Report card: indicators of women’s preconception health
Analysis of preconception indicators including wider determinants of health, health behaviours and pre-existing medical conditions.
Applies to England
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Analysis using data routinely recorded at appointments for all pregnant women booking for maternity services in England. The data is taken from the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 to describe the prevalence of preconception indicators, overall and among subgroups.
It includes analysis of:
- inequalities such as the age of mother, ethnicity, area deprivation of residence, region of residence, whether the pregnancy was a first or subsequent pregnancy and whether the mother had complex social factors
- wider determinants of health such as employment status, whether English was the mother’s first language and whether they live in the most deprived areas
- health behaviours such as taking folic acid supplements, smoking and the mother’s weight status
- maternity care such as whether the mother felt that they had adequate support available during and after pregnancy
- previous pregnancy-related conditions such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and previous caesarean section
- known pre-existing mental or physical health conditions and whether there is a family history of any inherited disorders or diabetes
The analysis can be used to inform work to improve the health of women preparing for pregnancy, during pregnancy and between pregnancies.
The indicators were developed based on a review published by the UK Preconception Partnership.
The methodology and findings are discussed further in a research paper Women’s preconception health in England: a report card based on cross‐sectional analysis of national maternity services data which has been published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).
Last updated 24 March 2023 + show all updates
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Added the details of the research paper that has now been published.
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First published.