Preconception care: A pragmatic approach for planned pregnancy

Preconception care is defined as the care comprising healthy behavior practices applied before conception and thereby modifying biomedical, behavioral, and social risks for better pregnancy outcome. Growing recognition on “continuum of care” from adolescence, prepregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period, childhood and through reproductive age for improving pregnancy outcome, and reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality emphasizes the need of preconception care. However, wide gap exists in the continuum of care because of the misperception that healthy behavior is needed only during pregnancy. However, by the time, most of the women recognize their pregnancy; most of the fetal organs have been formed.