RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Preconception Health Care: A Critical Task For Family Physicians
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Practice
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 237
OP 250
DO 10.3122/jabfm.4.4.237
VO 4
IS 4
A1 Gjerdingen, Dwenda K.
A1 Fontaine, Patricia
YR 1991
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/4/4/237.abstract
AB Health care leaders in the United States have recently advised that preconception care be made available to all prospective parents because health in pregnancy depends on health status prior to pregnancy. Prenatal care usually begins after the early critical period of pregnancy has passed, and optimal early prenatal care can be achieved only through preconception care. Family physicians, who are ideally suited to provide this care, can readily integrate it into the routine health maintenance they currently provide for their patients of childbearing age. This review highlights components of the medical, family, and social histories, current health, and physical examination that are important to preconception health. There is good evidence that attention to patients’ health needs before conception is related to improved perinatal outcomes.