Preconception care to reduce maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity

Overview

Overview

Reduction of maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity requires the provision of a continuum of care that spans pregnancy, childbirth, infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Interventions before pregnancy can increase the health and well-being of adolescents, adult women and men, and improve subsequent pregnancy and child health outcomes.

This report reflects the proceedings from a meeting to develop global consensus on preconception care to reduce maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity. It furthermore provides packages of interventions in thirteen domains - listing the health problems, problem behaviours and risk factors that contribute to maternal and childhood mortality and morbidity, evidence-based interventions to address them and mechanisms of delivering them.

The document is a result of an extensive cooperative effort led by WHO's Departments of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health Department (MCA) in conjunction with Nutrition for Health and Development (NHD), Reproductive Health and Research (RHR), Mental Health and Substance Abuse (MSD), Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI), Public Health and Environment (PHE), Violence and Injury Prevention (VIP), HIV/AIDS; and Immunization, Vaccine and Biologicals (IVB), and partners.