ArticlePloS one2014
How do women prepare for pregnancy? Preconception experiences of women attending antenatal services and views of health professionals.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
92 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Knowledge and utilisation of preconception care and associated factors among women in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis.Reproductive health · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Acceptability and feasibility of a planned preconception weight loss intervention in women with long-acting reversible contraception: the Plan-it mixed-methods study.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2023Trial
- The effect of a locally tailored intervention on the uptake of preconception care in the Netherlands: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial (APROPOS-II study).BMC public health · 2022Trial
- A Mobile App Lifestyle Intervention to Improve Healthy Nutrition in Women Before and During Early Pregnancy: Single-Center Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- Cost-effectiveness of a mobile health-supported lifestyle intervention for pregnant women with an elevated body mass index.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2020Trial
- Utilization of preconception care and associated factors in Hosanna Town, Southern Ethiopia.PloS oneTrial
- Understanding Preferences for Preconception Care in Australia: Insights From a Discrete Choice Experiment.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Health behaviors in women conceiving by medically assisted reproduction vs natural conception: A cross-sectional study of 23,334 nulliparous women.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Psychometric Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of the Italian Version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy Amongst Postnatal Women.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Health professionals require more defined protocols, better funding and patient resources to support couples with recurrent pregnancy loss.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Preconception Care: Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Physicians at a Tertiary Hospital in Ethiopia.AJP reports · 2025Article
- Experiences of discrimination across the life course among pregnancy planners in the United States and Canada.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Preconception health policy, health promotion, and health services to achieve health in current and future generations: a narrative review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Review
- Healthcare providers' preconception care practice and associated factors in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in health services · 2025Review
- Article
- Article
- Article
- A Development and Implementation of a Preconception Counseling Program for Black Women and Men in the Southeastern United States: A Pilot Protocol.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
MAIN
objectiveTo determine the extent to which women plan and prepare for pregnancy.
methodsCross-sectional questionnaire survey of pregnant women attending three maternity services in London about knowledge and uptake of preconception care; including a robust measure of pregnancy planning, and phone interviews with a range of health care professionals. MAIN
resultsWe recruited 1173/1288 (90%) women, median age of 32 years. 73% had clearly planned their pregnancy, 24% were ambivalent and only 3% of pregnancies were unplanned. 51% of all women and 63% of those with a planned pregnancy took folic acid before pregnancy. 21% of all women reported smoking and 61% reported drinking alcohol in the 3 months before pregnancy; 48% of smokers and 41% of drinkers reduced or stopped before pregnancy. The 51% of all women who reported advice from a health professional before becoming pregnant were more likely to adopt healthier behaviours before pregnancy [adjusted odds ratios for greatest health professional input compared with none were 2.34 (95% confidence interval 1.54-3.54) for taking folic acid and 2.18 (95% CI 1.42-3.36) for adopting a healthier diet before pregnancy]. Interviews with 20 health professionals indicated low awareness of preconception health issues, missed opportunities and confusion about responsibility for delivery of preconception care. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
findingsDespite a high level of pregnancy planning, awareness of preconception health among women and health professionals is low, and responsibility for providing preconception care is unclear. However, many women are motivated to adopt healthier behaviours in the preconception period, as indicated by halving of reported smoking rates in this study. The link between health professional input and healthy behaviour change before pregnancy is a new finding that should invigorate strategies to improve awareness and uptake of pre-pregnancy health care, and bring wider benefits for public health.
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Registered trials
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