“Do you want to become pregnant in the next year?”
This simple question will help Australians of reproductive age get preconception health advice at the right time. By asking your patients this question, you can:
- Help prevent unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
- Inform patients about the importance of a preconception health assessment.
- Improve the chance of conception and a healthy pregnancy and child.
GPs and nurses can potentially play a critical part in expanding women’s and men’s access to preconception health
How to incorporate the question into practice
This diagram can help GPs and primary care nurses provide timely information in response to their patients’ answers.
Examples in practice
Here are some examples of GPs asking patients about their pregnancy plans and responding to their patients’ answers
Useful resources
For GPs
RACGP accredited online courses
For Nurses
APNA online learning: Preconception Health Promotion in Primary Care
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References and acknowledgements
- Dorney E, Black KI. Preconception care. Aust J Gen Pract. 2018 Jul;47(7):424-429. doi: 10.31128/AJGP-02-18-4485. PMID: 30114868
- Bellanca HK, Hunter MS. ONE KEY QUESTION®:Preventive reproductive health is part of high quality primary care. Contraception 2013;88(1):3–6. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2013.05.003.
