Preconception care in Bangladesh: pattern and impact on maternal health among the women in Dhaka district

Sadananda Mitra, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Preconception care is an important part of a woman’s overall reproductive health. The main goal of preconception care is to provide health promotion, screening and intervention of woman of reproductive age to reduce risk factors that might affect future pregnancies. It is a set of intervention, which includes both prevention and management, emphasizing health issues that require action before pregnancy. Preconception or intra-conception care is sought partially in Bangladesh. There is growing concern of STD/STI in recent years. The country has low HIV prevalence with the high risk. Preconception care can determine the risks of these pre-existing medical conditions for better health and also better pregnancy outcomes. The study from the Dhaka district shows that although the level of care is low but it has accrued impact on women’s health during pregnancy and delivery. The multivariate analysis shows that it is a significant determinant of antenatal care, institutional delivery, and treatment seeking for RTIs. IT is suggested that preconception care would be an effective tool of behavior change and it may be given priority in the existing health intervention to create demand of Emergency Obstetric Care (EOC) at the community level.