Health Care Providers
You can make a difference!
An alarming number of women enter pregnancy in poor health. Yet, there is ample evidence that pregnancy outcomes are strongly influenced by women’s health status prior to becoming pregnant. The amount of prenatal care women receive, while important, is often insufficient to address the contributing risk factors that can lead to poor birth outcomes.
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Our state’s statistics are grim:
- Over half of women in their childbearing years are overweight or obese.
- Twenty-four percent of women use tobacco.
- Twenty-six percent of women report poor mental health.
- Eleven percent of women report alcohol misuse.
- Forty-five percent of pregnancies are unplanned/unintended.
And it’s affecting our babies:
- North Carolina’s infant morality rate is the 44th highest in the United States
- Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality in North Carolina, with 13.5 percent of all babies being born too soon.
Think about it: How would our work change if we all thought of every meeting with a woman as an opportunity to promote preconception health?
Counseling women in your practice about how to achieve optimal health before they become pregnant is an important part of improving the health of women and children in North Carolina. It is not an easy task, but the sections that follow will arm you with the information and tools you need.
The North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign wants to be your source for preconception health information and messages. Our information is well-researched, evidence-based and thoughtfully crafted. We’re dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women of reproductive age, and we know you are too.
Follow the links for more information on each topic: