THE NATIONAL INITIATIVE ON
PRECONCEPTION HEALTH AND
HEALTH CARE
Presenter’s name
Acknowledgements
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The National Preconception Health and Health
Care (PCHHC) Steering Committee Members
PCHHC Workgroup Members
Kay Johnson, former Senior Advisor to the PCHHC
Louise Floyd and Jasmine Humphreys, CDC
The Initiative
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The National Initiative on Preconception Health
and Health Care (PCHHC) is a public-private
partnership that began in 2004. The PCHHC is
comprised of a steering committee and five
workgroups:
 Consumer
 Clinical
 Public
Health
 Research and Surveillance
 Policy and Finance
Vision
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The vision of this work is multi-faceted and
includes that:
All women and men of
childbearing age have high
reproductive awareness
 All pregnancies are intended
and planned
 All women of childbearing
age have health coverage
and receive needed
screenings and services
before pregnancy to improve
their health and reduce the
risk of a poor birth outcome
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Goals
1. To improve the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors
of men and women related to preconception health.
2. To create health equity and eliminate disparities in
adverse maternal, fetal, and infant outcomes.
3. To assure that all U.S. women of childbearing age
receive preconception care services that will enable
them to achieve high levels of wellness, minimize
risks, and enter any pregnancy they may choose to
have in optimal health.
4. To reduce risks among women who have had a prior
adverse maternal, fetal, or infant outcome through
interventions in the postpartum/interconception
period.
Recommendations
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Individual responsibility
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across the life span
Preventive visits
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Interconception care
Health coverage for low
income women
Research
Consumer awareness
Interventions for
identified risks
Pre-pregnancy check
ups
Public health programs
and strategies
Monitoring
improvements
Key Accomplishments
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Guidelines & Agendas
 Example:
Developed Recommendations to Improve
Preconception Health and Health Care (MMWR,
2006), the foundation for the National Preconception
Movement
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Resources
 Examples:
Developed an online preconception
curriculum for clinicians at Before, Between and
Beyond Pregnancy (beforeandbeyond.org)
 Launched the National Preconception Resource Center
More Key Accomplishments
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Journals
 Example:
Journal supplements in the MCH Journal,
Women’s Health Issues, and the American Journal of
Health Promotion
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Policy & Practice
 Example:
Implemented Urban and Rural Public Health
Practice Collaboratives in six cities
 Advanced state policy, including interconception care
waivers and Peer-2-Peer Medicaid learning projects
Meetings
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National Summits were
held in 2005, 2007 and
2011
Presentations and
abstracts from the 3rd
National Summit are
available at
beforeandbeyond.org
Social Marketing Campaign
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Developed Social Marketing Campaign Logic Model
and Plan
Conducted an environmental scan and formative
research, including a Message Bundling study to
assess knowledge of preconception health among
women of reproductive age
Developed brand identity and outreach plan
The New Strategic Plan 2012-14
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Consumer
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Objective 1: Increase preconception knowledge, awareness, and
behavior among women of childbearing age
KEY STRATEGY: Develop, implement and evaluate a preconception
health social marketing campaign
Clinical
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Objective 1: Arm providers with tools which encourage inclusion of
preconception health promotion into the routine care of all women of
reproductive age
Objective 2: Measure impact of incorporating preconception care into
routine well-woman preventive care visits
Objective 3: Provide clinicians with the knowledge, skills and content
needed to advance evidence-based postpartum visits and
interconception care
KEY STRATEGY: Develop, implement and evaluate a preconception
toolkit for providers
The New Strategic Plan 2012-14
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Public Health
Objective 1: Reduce chronic disease and improve
preconception health among women of childbearing age
 Objective 2: Support the development of the PCHHC
Resource Center and enhance the quality and relevancy of
public health program information available
 Objective 3: Describe the application of the Life Course
Approach to Preconception Health
 KEY STRATEGIES: Advance collaboration between MCH and
chronic disease prevention agencies around preconception
health
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The New Strategic Plan 2012-14
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Research and Surveillance
 Objective
1: Develop the vision, framework, goals, and
objectives for this Work Group
 Objective 2: Develop a research and evaluation
agenda that focuses on preconception health and
includes perspectives of life course, social
determinants of health, and health equity
 Objective 3: Enhance and expand the use of existing
surveys and surveillance systems
 KEY STRATEGY: Promote awareness and use of core
preconception indicator set
The New Strategic Plan 2012-14
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Policy and Finance
 Objective
1: Support and advance implementation of
coverage for women’s clinical preventive benefits,
including preconception care in well-woman visits
 Objective 2: Improve and expand implementation of
interconception care policies, programs, and services
 Objective 3: Support continued investment in
preconception health and health care
 KEY STRATEGY: Advance primary care capacity to
deliver well-woman visits and pre- and
interconception
Resources
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New CDC preconception
website
(www.cdc.gov/preconce
ption/) with information
for women and men,
tools for health
professionals,
reproductive life
planning, and more.
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Includes the Preconception Health and Health Care
Resource Center, an online directory of tools and
resources.
Connect/Engage!
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Subscribe to the PCHHC Initiative bi-monthly newsletter
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Join a Work Group!
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Find archived newsletters at BeforeAndBeyond.org >> News.
Either click the “Join Our Mailing List” button in the most recent archived
newsletter, or email pchhcnews@gmail.com and request to subscribe.
New members are always welcome. Contact Sarah Verbiest at
sarahv@med.unc.edu or 919.843.7865.
Promote the new Social Marketing Campaign and Provider
Tool Kit when they are released in 2013.
Learn about the new Affordable Care Act and be proactive in
sharing this information with low-income women in your
state.
Share your work, resources and tools with others by sending
information to the new Resource Center. Submit best practice
programs to the AMCHP Innovations Station.
Questions?
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