[en] With the increase in obesity prevalence among women of reproductive age globally, the risks of type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and other conditions are rising, with detrimental effects on maternal and newborn health. The period before pregnancy is increasingly recognized as crucial for addressing weight management and reducing malnutrition (both under- and overnutrition) in both parents to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the mother as well as the passage of risk to her offspring. Healthcare practitioners, including obstetricians, gynecologists, midwives, and general practitioners, have an important role to play in supporting women in planning a pregnancy and achieving healthy nutrition and weight before pregnancy. In this position paper, the FIGO Pregnancy Obesity and Nutrition Initiative provides an overview of the evidence for preconception clinical guidelines to reduce the risk of NCDs in mothers and their offspring. It encourages healthcare practitioners to initiate a dialogue on women's health, nutrition, and weight management before conception. While acknowledging the fundamental importance of the wider social and environmental determinants of health, this paper focuses on a simple set of recommendations for clinical practice that can be used even in short consultations. The recommendations can be contextualized based on local cultural and dietary practices as part of a system-wide public health approach to influence the wider determinants as well as individual factors influencing preconception health.
Disciplines :
Reproductive medicine (gynecology, andrology, obstetrics)
Author, co-author :
Jacob, Chandni Maria; University of Southampton - UK > Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Developmental Sciences
Killeen, Sarah Louise; University College Dublin, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland > UCD Perinatal Research Centre
McAuliffe, Fionnuala M.; University College Dublin, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland > UCD Perinatal Research Centre
Stephenson, Judith; University College London - UK > Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women’s Health
Hod, Moshe; Tel Aviv, Israel > Mor Comprehensive Women’s Health Care Center
Diaz Yamal, Ivonne; University Militar Nueva Granada - Colombia > Faculty of Medicine
Malhotra, Jaideep; Malhotra Nursing and Maternity Home - India
Mocanu, Edgar; Rotunda Hospital - Ireland > RCSI Department of Reproductive Medicine
McIntyre, H. David; The University of Queensland - Australia > Mater Research
Kihara, Anne B.; University of Nairobi - Kenya > Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Ma, Ronald C.; The Chinese University of Hong Kong - China > Department of Medicine and Therapeutics
Divakar, Hema; Divakar’s Specialty Hospital - India
Kapur, Anil; World Diabetes Foundation - Denmark
Ferriani, Rui; University of São Paulo - Brazil > Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics > Human Reproduction Sector
Ng, Ernest; University of Hong Kong - China > Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
HENRY, Laurie ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > Département de gynécologie-obstétrique > Service de gynécologie-obstétrique (CHR) - CPMA
Van Der Spuy, Zephne; University of Cape Town - Groote Schuur Hospital - South Africa > Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Rosenwaks, Zev; Weill Cornell Medicine - USA > The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine,
Hanson, Mark A. Hanson; University of Southampton - UK > Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Developmental Sciences
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