Pregnancy planning and lifestyle prior to conception and during early pregnancy among Danish women

Abstract

Objective To investigate the extent to which Danish women attending antenatal care plan their pregnancies and to determine the association between pregnancy planning and the intake of folic acid, alcohol consumption and smoking habits prior to conception and before the 16th week of gestation.

Methods A cross-sectional survey of 258 women. Main outcome measures: intake of folic acid, alcohol consumption and smoking. Pregnancy planning was assessed by the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP) and the five graded Swedish Pregnancy Planning Scale.

Results Most (77%) of the participants reported that their pregnancies were very or fairly well planned. Higher median LMUP scores were observed in women taking folic acid (p < 0.001), in those consuming less alcohol, and in women who stopped smoking prior to pregnancy (p = 0.043). However, 43% of the respondents with a high degree of pregnancy planning and 98% of those with a low degree of planning had not taken folic acid prior to pregnancy. Binge drinking during early pregnancy was reported by 20% of women with a high degree of planned pregnancy and 31% of those with a low degree (p = 0.1).

Conclusion Pregnancy planning was associated with a healthier lifestyle but still many women could improve their lifestyle in connection to pregnancy. Their level of alcohol consumption is higher than that recommended for best pregnancy outcome.

Chinese abstract 目的。探讨在何种程度上参加产前保健计划的丹麦妇女怀孕，并确定妊娠规划和叶酸的摄入量，饮酒和吸烟习惯受孕前和怀孕第16周前之间的关联。 方法。采用横断面调查的258名妇女。主要观察指标：摄取叶酸，饮酒和吸烟。怀孕计划是由伦敦的的意外怀孕（ LMUP ）和五个梯度瑞典妊娠规划规模测量评估。 的结果。大多数（77％ ）的参与者报道，怀孕非常或相当精心策划。较高的平均LMUP分数，观察妇女服用叶酸（ P < 0.001 ） ，在那些消耗少饮酒，在妇女怀孕前戒烟（ P = 0.043） 。然而，具有高度的怀孕计划， 98％的那些低度的规划有43％的受访者并没有采取叶酸，怀孕前。具有高度的计划怀孕的程度低（ P = 0.1 ）和31％ ， 20％的女性在怀孕早期报道暴饮。 结论。健康的生活方式是与怀孕计划，但仍有许多连接到怀孕妇女可以改善他们的生活方式。他们的酒精消费水平高于建议最佳妊娠结局。.

KEYWORDS:

• Pregnancy planning
• Preconception health
• Folic acid
• Alcohol
• Smoking

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Aalborg Midwifery Centre for assistance with the practical aspects of distributing the questionnaire.

Funding: None.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper.