Abstract

Maternal and infant mortality rates are higher in the United States than any other developed country. Black women and infants are more likely to die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth than any other racial group. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Women of color and those of lower socio-economic status are more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy, a contributing factor to poor birth outcomes. The prepregnancy health of both parents has a direct impact on maternal and infant health during the pregnancy and after delivery. For this project, patients of childbearing age receiving care at a nurse- run community health clinic were recruited to participate in the study to receive preconception education on recommended health behaviors for improving birth outcomes. Twelve participants reviewed an educational handout provided by the researcher and completed a post handout survey, designed specifically for this project, to determine improvement in knowledge and attitudes regarding recommended preconception health behaviors. All study participants reported improvement in knowledge of health recommendations. Additionally, greater than 80% of participants stated they would implement the recommended health behaviors. These results support continuing education on the benefits the preconception wellness as a potential strategy to improve birth outcomes in the community.

Colleen Hobbs

Author Details

Colleen Hobbs, MSN, BSN, RN

Sigma Membership

Tau Tau

Lead Author Affiliation

Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice

Keywords:

Preconception Education, Preconception Wellness, Reproductive Health, Patient Education, Health Behaviors, Birth Outcomes, Racial Disparities

Advisor

Hall, Lyndsi

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Nebraska Methodist College

Degree Year

2023

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

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