Preconception care: a good beginning

Recent years have seen increasing attention focused on preconception care as a means of promoting the health of prospective parents and their children. It was this trend, together with the persistence of relatively high perinatal mortality in the Netherlands, that prompted the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport to request that the Health Council produce an advisory report on preconception care.
The Minister asked the Council to review the current level of knowledge concerning preconception care. He also wished to know to what extent the available knowledge is already being applied, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere. A further question raised was which specific requirements a programme of preconception care would need to meet. Finally, the Minister asked the Health Council to investigate how one might reach the maximum possible number of parents-to-be, what professional groups and other bodies would need to be involved, and what ethical considerations arise in connection with preconception care.

Committee

• Prof. L.P. ten Kate, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Genetics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Chairman
• Prof. W.J.J. Assendelft, Professor of Family Medicine, Leiden
• Dr. T. Brand, occupational health physician, Coronel Institute, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam
• P.C. Groeneveld, Directorate of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, The Hague, adviser
• Prof. R.A. Hirasing, Professor of Community Child Health, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam / consultant, TNO Quality of Life, Leiden
• A.M. van Huis, midwife, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam
• Prof. L.T.W. de Jong-van den Berg, Professor of Social Pharmacy and Pharmaco-epidemiology, University of Groningen
• Prof. M. Offringa, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Paediatrics, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam
• Y. Poortman, biologist, Secretary General, International Genetic Alliance of Parent and Patient Organisations, former Executive Director of VSOP, Soestdijk
• Prof. C.T.R.M. Schrander-Stumpel, Professor of Clinical Genetics, University of Maastricht
• Prof. E.A.P. Steegers, Professor of Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam
• Dr. D. Stemerding, lecturer, science and society, University of Twente
• Prof. S.P. Verloove-Vanhorick, Professor of Preventive and Curative Paediatric Health Care, LUMC / consultant, TNO Quality of Life, Leiden
• Dr. M.F. Verweij, ethicist, University of Utrecht
• Dr. P.A. Bolhuis, Health Council, Secretary (until 1st January 2006)
• Dr. V.W.T. Ruiz van Haperen, Health Council, Secretary (as of 1st February 2006)

With special thanks to Dr. M. Deutekom of the Dutch Cochrane Centre in Amsterdam for her assistance in the systematic literature search, selection and processing and to L.F. Stultiens of the Health Council for her contribution to the section on legal aspects in chapter 7.