[Best possible start for child and parent].

The health of women during the periconception period and pregnancy is important for a healthy start of the child. All care providers can make a major contribution to this. In this learning article we provide answers to a number of questions that have been collected from the professional field about preconception care and care for vulnerable pregnant women.

Surgical treatment for tubal disease in women due to undergo in vitro fertilisation.

Background: Tubal disease accounts for 20% of infertility cases. Hydrosalpinx, caused by distal tubal occlusion leading to fluid accumulation in the tube(s), is a particularly severe form of tubal disease negatively affecting the outcomes of assisted reproductive technology (ART). It is thought that tubal surgery may improve the outcome of ART in women with hydrosalpinges.

Change in Lifestyle Behaviors After Preconception Care: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of preconception care (PCC) consultations by change in lifestyle behaviors.

Setting And Intervention: Women in deprived neighborhoods of 14 Dutch municipalities were encouraged to visit a general practitioner or midwife for PCC.

Sample: The study included women aged 18 to 41 years who had a PCC consultation.

Systematic Development of Materials for Inviting Low Health-Literate Individuals to Participate in Preconception Counseling.

In this study we aimed to systematically analyze problems in the recruitment of women with low health literacy for preconception counseling and to adapt and evaluate written invitations for this group. In a problem analysis (stage 1) we used structured interviews (n = 72) to assess comprehension of the initial invitations, perception of perinatal risks, attitude and intention to participate in preconception counseling. These outcomes were used to adapt the invitation.

The effect of a preconception care outreach strategy: the Healthy Pregnancy 4 All study.

Background: Preconception care has been acknowledged as an intervention to reduce perinatal mortality and morbidity. However, utilization of preconception care is low because of low awareness of availability and benefits of the service. An outreach strategy was employed to promote uptake of preconception care consultations.

Developing social marketed individual preconception care consultations: Which consumer preferences should it meet?

Aims: Preconception care (PCC) is care that aims to improve the health of offspring by addressing risk factors in the pre-pregnancy period. Consultations are recognized as a method to promote perinatal health. However, prospective parents underutilize PCC services.

Barriers in the Uptake and Delivery of Preconception Care: Exploring the Views of Care Providers.

Objectives To examine health care professionals' views of their role and responsibilities in providing preconception care and identify barriers that affect the delivery and uptake of preconception care. Methods Twenty health care professionals who provide preconception care on a regular basis were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Results We interviewed twelve community midwives, three General Practitioners, three obstetricians, one cardiologist specialized in congenital heart diseases and one gastroenterologist.

Analysis of policy towards improvement of perinatal mortality in the Netherlands (2004-2011).

Relatively high perinatal mortality and morbidity rates(2) in the Netherlands resulted in a process which induced policy changes regarding the Dutch perinatal healthcare system. Aims of this policy analysis are (1) to identify actors, context and process factors that promoted or impeded agenda setting and formulation of policy regarding perinatal health care reform and (2) to present an overview of the renewed perinatal health policy. The policy triangle framework for policy analysis by Walt and Gilson was applied(3).

Effectiveness of general preconception care accompanied by a recruitment approach: protocol of a community-based cohort study (the Healthy Pregnancy 4 All study).

Introduction: Promotion of healthy pregnancies has gained high priority in the Netherlands because of the relative unfavourable perinatal outcomes. In response, a nationwide study Healthy Pregnancy 4 All (HP4ALL) has been initiated. One of the substudies within HP4ALL focuses on preconception care (PCC).

Effectiveness of score card-based antenatal risk selection, care pathways, and multidisciplinary consultation in the Healthy Pregnancy 4 All study (HP4ALL): study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Promotion of healthy pregnancies has gained high priority in the Netherlands because of relatively unfavorable perinatal outcomes. In response, a nationwide study, 'Healthy Pregnancy 4 All' (HP4ALL), has been initiated. Part of this study involves systematic and broadened antenatal risk assessment (the Risk Assessment substudy).

Design and outline of the Healthy Pregnancy 4 All study.

Background: Promotion of healthy pregnancies has gained high priority in the Netherlands because of the relatively unfavourable perinatal health outcomes. In response a nationwide study Healthy Pregnancy 4 All was initiated. This study combines public health and epidemiologic research to evaluate the effectiveness of two obstetric interventions before and during pregnancy: (1) programmatic preconception care (PCC) and (2) systematic antenatal risk assessment (including both medical and non-medical risk factors) followed by patient-tailored multidisciplinary care pathways.

Evidence-based preconceptional lifestyle interventions.

Although the evidence for the associations between preconceptional risk factors and adverse pregnancy outcomes is extensive, the effectiveness of preconceptional interventions to reduce risk factors and to improve pregnancy outcomes remains partly unclear. The objective of this review is to summarize the available effectiveness of lifestyle interventions prior to pregnancy for women in terms of behavior change and pregnancy outcome. A predefined search strategy was applied in electronic databases, and citation tracking was performed.