World Health Organization spotlights Southampton research on health before pregnancy
- Clinical Research communications team
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
A new report has highlighted the role of Southampton researchers and their partners in shaping the global conversation on preconception care.
The time before pregnancy is known as 'preconception'. It is an important window that can help determine the future health and wellbeing of parents and children.
The report has been published by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is titled Reframing Care and Services to Improve Preconception Health.
It draws on insights from the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton and the University of Southampton.
Southampton voices
The report has emerged from a high-level consultation meeting in May 2024.
Dr Danielle Schoenaker and Professors Shane Norris and Mark Hanson were invited to speak at the meeting. They were joined by Professors Keith Godfrey and Kalyanaraman Kumaran.
Together, their work is helping to reshape how health systems around the world approach preconception care.
Global perspectives
The report draws on University of Southampton and University of the Witwatersrand-led studies.
Through two international surveys, Dr Schoenaker and Professor Norris gathered community perspectives on preconception health.
The research spanned a wide range of settings. These included richer countries like the UK, Belgium and Australia. They also covered poorer contexts such as Bangladesh, Ghana and Brazil.
Key findings include:
Men understood less about health before pregnancy than women—even in richer countries.
Mental health was the biggest worry for most people, followed by physical health, strong relationships and having enough money.
People said things like eating well, being able to see a doctor, having a safe home and enough food were really important for staying healthy before pregnancy.
Southampton’s LifeLab programme also features in the report. It was highlighted for teaching how the choices you make when you're young can affect your future health, including when you have children.
Bridging the evidence gap
The report talks about some big challenges in improving health before pregnancy around the world. These include things like not having clear guidelines, different countries doing things in different ways, and the need to think carefully about gender and people’s rights when making health policies.
It also says we need to keep talking about how we use language, how to bring preconception care into health systems, and how to make sure it works for people from all cultures and backgrounds.
Shaping the future
The Southampton-led preconception health report card was also presented at the meeting. This highlights the importance of measuring and monitoring preconception health to define population needs. Findings can then guide policy, service design and evaluation.
The meeting report described the International Core Indicators for Preconception Health and Equity (iCIPHE) Alliance. This is co-led by Dr Schoenaker. iCIPHE is developing core indicators to monitor global preconception health.
This recognition from the WHO shows that Southampton is leading the way in helping people stay healthy before pregnancy. This is making a difference in the UK and around the world.
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