Maybe, baby: perceptions of preconception care in Milton Keynes
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Healthwatch Milton Keynes agreed to support research by the local ICB Women's Health lead on preconception care. They ran a survey with Maternity MK to which 56 people responded. They also spoke to 134 women and 85 staff.
Key findings
41% of respondents were currently pregnant, 23% were trying to get pregnant. The most interesting answers in relation to preconception health were that over 90% of people not currently pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, were NOT using any form of contraception.
Over two thirds hadn't been pregnant before or had had one pregnancy.
73% hadn't received any advice from healthcare professionals before planning pregnancy
The 39% who said they didn’t find advice helpful or informative were fairly evenly split between those who said they were not offered any, and those who said they had not asked for any.
Over half would seek advice about preparing for pregnancy. The key issues they wanted advice on were mental health, supplements and diet. Most wanted their GP to give the advice.
Most booked their first antenatal appointment with their midwife in the first 10 weeks of their pregnancy.
Over two in five had long term conditions. Over a quarter had a mental health condition. 70% of those who had a long term condition hadn't sought advice about how the condition affected being pregnant.