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Preventing Infant Mortality: the
Development of a Statewide
Preconception Health Plan
Anna Bess Brown, MPH
Amy Mullenix, MSPH, MSWAlvina Long Valentin, RN, MPH
Sarah Verbiest, MPH, MSW
Why it Matters
Pregnancy is too late to change many behaviors and exposures that put the infant at risk
Pregnancy may unveil a woman’s risk for future disease and reproductive problems
Healthy women are more likely to have healthy babies – the life course perspective
Preconception Health History• History of Preconception Leadership• NC Folic Acid Campaign• NC Medical Journal Infant Mortality
Issue• State Infant Mortality Collaborative
(2004-06) examined infant mortality• CDC’s Recommendations for
Preconception Health and Health Care prompted response
Looking Back Moving Forward
Plan Development• Assemble leadership team
– including the new DPH preconception coordinator
• Collect and examine data• Convene Think Tank mtgs• Create vision statement
and guiding principles• Collect new ideas at
Summit• Choose areas of focus
Participants• 75+ participants in Preconception
Health Think Tank meetings including
• Dept. of Public Instruction• local health departments• public and private universities• Division of Health & Human Services• community-based organizations• non-profit agencies• consumers
Leadership Team
Data Collection
• Quantitative• Qualitative Purpose
• Find the gaps• Find focus• Justify the cause• Measure outcomes
Statewide Meetings
March 2007 Think Tank Meeting #1• To initiate a focused, collaborative,
comprehensive process to create a state Preconception Action Plan
May 2007 Think Tank Meeting #2 • To collect diverse ideas and understand
how preconception fits into existing workAugust 2007 Think Tank Meeting #3
• To present priorities and focus areas
Vision Statement
This effort seeks to improve the health of women of childbearing age in North Carolina. Through a collaborative focus on women’s wellness, North Carolina will improve the quality of life for women as well as the health of infants.
Guiding Principles• Focus on the whole woman – not only her
reproductive capacity• Consider the woman’s health needs and
related wellness recommendations within the context of her family and community
• Avoid messages that imply that certain women should or should not become mothers
• Prioritize programs with the potential to address health disparities
• Infuse community development and consumer leadership into each step of the plan
Next Steps
• Share information from Summit• Conduct meeting December 2007• Convene Preconception Summit in
January• Finish Plan • Get started with who
and what we have!
Contact uswww.mombaby.org
Anna Bess Brown [email protected]
Amy Mullenix [email protected]
Alvina Long Valentin [email protected]
Sarah Verbiest [email protected]
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