Preconception health: an analysis of the Maternity Services DataSet
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Preconception health indicators and their relationship with pregnancy and birth outcomes
IRAS ID
285601
Contact name
Danielle Schoenaker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
Women’s health before pregnancy sets the foundation for a successful and healthy pregnancy and the subsequent lifelong health of the next generation. There is now compelling evidence to suggest that a range of preconception health behaviours such as poor nutrition and smoking, long-term physical and mental health problems, as well as socio-economic factors are associated with adverse outcomes during and after pregnancy for women and their offspring.
The National Institute for health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends various preconception care strategies to improve preconception health. While these recommendations emphasise the need to improve preconception health, there has been little evidence of translation into resources and action. In order to place preconception health on the agenda of governments and other relevant organisations and to hold them accountable for developing and delivering successful interventions and campaigns, this study aims to describe the nation’s state of preconception health overall and among potentially vulnerable or high-risk groups. Moreover, it is important to continue to build the scientific evidence-base on the role of preconception health – including its social, economic and demographic determinants – in the prevention of poor health outcomes for mothers and babies. This study therefore also aims to examine relationships between preconception and early pregnancy health indicators and subsequent pregnancy and birth outcomes, and determine the potential public health impact of preconception health interventions on reducing adverse outcomes.
This study is a secondary analysis of existing anonymised data recorded in the MSDS from approximately 600,000 women who used NHS maternity services in England between April 2018 and March 2019. Data on social determinants of health, maternal age, pregnancy history, health behaviours, and past medical diagnoses will be examined in relation with pregnancy and birth outcomes, to provide national population-level evidence on preconception health and its potential impact.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0231
Date of REC Opinion
14 Aug 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion