Preconception health is a national priority that focuses on improving birth outcomes, reducing the risk of infant mortality, and transforming the health of women before, during, between, and beyond pregnancy.
North Carolina has been a leader in preconception health and continues to drive innovation nationwide. In collaboration with maternal and child health experts across the state, the Division of Public Health developed a strategic plan to address preconception health issues. The North Carolina Strategic Plan examines how energy and resources can best be invested to improve the health of North Carolina's women and children and offers new strategies to achieve this vision.
In an effort to measure and track the health status of women of childbearing age, a steering committee was established by the Public Health Work Group (PHWG) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Select Panel on Preconception Care. This steering committee researched, analyzed and developed a recommended list of Core State Preconception Health and Health Care Indicators. The tabular data collected below is designed to be the first step in reporting and tracking these preconception health measures for North Carolina in order to guide efforts to improve the health and wellness of women of reproductive age across the state.
Percentage of women having a live birth who received preconception counseling about healthy lifestyle behaviors and prevention strategies from a health care provider prior to pregnancy
Percentage of women who experienced a miscarriage, fetal death or stillbirth in the 12 months prior to getting pregnant with their most recent live born infant
Percentage of women having a live birth who reported having an unintended or unwanted pregnancy
Unintended pregnancy: percentage of women who said that just before their most recent pregnancy, they wanted to be pregnant later or didn’t want to be pregnant then or at anytime in the future
Unwanted pregnancy: percentage of women who said that just before their most recent pregnancy they didn’t want to be pregnant then or at anytime in the future
Percentage of women having a live birth who were not trying to get pregnant at the time of conception and neither they nor their husbands or partners were doing anything to keep from getting pregnant
Percentage of women having a live birth who reported that they or their husbands or partners were currently doing something to keep from getting pregnant
Percentage of women having a live birth who used fertility drugs or received any medical procedures from a doctor, nurse, or other health care worker to help them get pregnant
Percentage of women who are overweight or obese based on body mass index (BMI)
Overweight: percentage of women with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 but < 30 kg/m2
Obesity: percentage of women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2
Percentage of women having a live birth who were overweight or obese based on BMI at the time they became pregnant
Overweight: percentage of women with a pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 but < 30 kg/m2
Obesity: percentage of women with a pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2
Percentage of women who participate in enough moderate and/or vigorous physical activity in a usual week to meet the recommended levels of physical activity
Percentage of women having a live birth who visited a health care provider to be checked or treated for anxiety or depression during the 12 months prior to pregnancy
Percentage of women having a live birth who before their most recent pregnancy had ever been told be a health care provider that they had Type I or Type II diabetes
a Indicator measure is a PRAMS Standard Item, which is not available in all PRAMS states. b Indicator measure is a BRFSS Rotating Core Item, which is available in all states only in even years. c Indicator measure is also available as an Optional Module, which can be added in odd years. d Indicator measure is a BRFSS Rotating Core Item, which is available in all states only in odd years.
