All women and men of reproductive age will achieve optimal health and wellness, fostering a healthy life course for them and any children they may have.The National Preconception Health and Health Care (PCHHC) is a public-private partnership of over 70 organizations focused on improving the health of young women and men and any children they may choose to have. The vision is that all women and men of reproductive age will achieve optimal health and wellness, fostering a healthy life course for them and any children they may have.
The Initiative’s Goals are to…
- Improve the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of men and women related to preconception health
- All pregnancies are intended and planned
- Build health equity and eliminate disparities in birth outcomes
- Ensure that all women and men of reproductive age receive quality services that enable them to achieve high levels of wellness, minimize risks and enter any pregnancy they might have in optimal health
- Reduce risks among women who have had a prior adverse maternal, fetal or infant outcome through interventions during the postpartum / interconception period
PCHHC is coordinated by the Center for Maternal and Infant Health, housed within the School of Medicine at UNC at Chapel Hill. Support for the Initiative’s core operations is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, the Initiative also has support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. As the Initiative seeks to expand its work, additional funding partners are needed.
The Initiative’s goals and vision are achieved through the collaborative efforts of national, state and local partners who donate their time and talent to pushing this work forward. Five workgroups convene to take on different components of the work – clinical, consumer, public health, policy and surveillance – then come together monthly to foster synergy and idea sharing.
Healthy People 2020 Objectives include a focus on preconception health in the Maternal, Infant and Child Health (MICH) objectives (14-16). Click here to review. Further, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of HRSA has identified increasing attendance at an annual well woman visit as one of its national performance measures aimed at improving preconception health. Click here to learn more.
