RESEARCH ROUNDUP

Preconception care (PCC) describes interventions that identify and modify behavioural, biomedical, and social risks among reproductive-aged women. Although PCC aims to enhance healthy pregnancy outcomes through managing risk factors like obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, and mental health conditions, it is unclear whether PCC risk factors are identifiable in general practice records. In this Australian study, Withanage et al (2024) determined the extent to which medical and lifestyle preconception health risk factors are documented in GP electronic medical records (EMRs).

The authors retrospectively audited the documentation of medical and lifestyle preconception risk factors of 100 consecutive women aged 18–44 years who attended ten general practices over nine months in 2022.

Most of the reproductive-aged women had their smoking status, blood pressure, alcohol consumption and body-mass index documented in their GP EMRs, and the authors state that their study demonstrates the current burden of risk of potential adverse pregnancy outcomes. They note the relatively high prevalence of preconception lifestyle risk factors and medical conditions. Thus, 14% smoked, 24% were obese, 7% had high blood pressure, 5% had diabetes, 28% had a mental health condition, 13% had asthma, 6% had thyroid disease and 17% had been prescribed a potentially teratogenic medication. This study ‘highlights the potential to use information in the EMR to identify reproductive-aged women who could most benefit from PCC.’