Preconception health: a public health challenge.

Minimal attention has been paid to preconception counseling even though good preconception health may be among the most important segments of a woman's life. Only in recent years have most healthcare providers, including obstetricians, realized that the initiation of health care and guidance after conception may be too late to prevent birth defects, low birthweight and infant mortality. The Oklahoma State Department of Health's Birth Defect Registry has developed a Women's Health Appraisal Questionnaire to assist physicians in identifying high-risk behaviors and other condition in the patient's environment that may be linked to detrimental outcomes to the fetus.