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• Premarital - Preconception care


  Provision of biomedical, behavioral and social health interventions to women and couples before conception occurs to improve their health status and reduce factors that contribute to poor maternal and child health outcomes
• Adolescents need more information about reproduction, sexual health and premarital care
• In Egypt, pre-marital counseling and examination services were introduced in 1946 as a main component of maternal and child health services, but utilization has been very limited up till now
• Cultural values and traditions may play a significant role in the under-utilization of available premarital counseling services
• Importance of premarital care


  • Early detection of health problems and better chance of treatment
  • Providing guidance, preparation for marriage, family education, training in the art of child rearing and family planning
  • Prevention of health problems for the couple and their future children
• Primary goal of preconception care

  To optimize the health of individuals or couples before they become pregnant by identifying and addressing factors that could affect the health of the future pregnancy and the well-being of both the mother and the baby
• Key objectives of preconception care

  • Promoting reproductive health
  • Identifying and managing health conditions
  • Nutritional optimization
  • Lifestyle modifications
  • Genetic counseling
  • Immunizations
  • Screening for environmental exposures
  • Psychosocial support
• Components of premarital care

  • Premarital examination (history taking, physical examination, laboratory examinations)
  • Premarital education
  • Premarital counseling
• History taking in premarital examination

  Includes personal history, menstrual history, medical history, family history, and kin relationship with spouse
• Role of the nurse in history taking

  • Takes history, assures confidentiality, records history in client records
• Physical examination in premarital examination

  • Includes heart, chest, and pelvic examinations
• Role of the nurse in physical examination

  • Explains procedures, assists, records findings, ensures privacy
• Laboratory investigations in premarital examination

  • Cytogenetic studies, complete blood counts, serological tests for infections, urine analysis, semen analysis
• Role of the nurse in laboratory examinations

  • Explains purpose, assists in sample taking, labels samples, records findings, discusses with clients, refers for chest X-ray, conducts premarital immunization
• Premarital education


  Should be started early during pre-puberty and continued through puberty and adolescence into adulthood to guide and prepare couples for marriage
• Areas of premarital health education

  • Parents' health, safe environment, role of mother, sex education, nutrition, role of father, child rearing, family planning
• Premarital counseling


  A communication process in which the counselor tries to provide a couple with complete and accurate information about the responsibilities of marriage, encourage exploration of individual needs, goals, values and deficiencies, and help prepare couples for marriage including sexuality, sexual health, sexual problems, and preparation for parenthood
• Gather counseling model for premarital counseling


  • Greeting the couples, asking about themselves, assessing their needs and giving relevant information, helping them make decisions, explaining their choices, and scheduling a follow-up visit
• Role of the nurse in premarital counseling

  • Prepares proper atmosphere, ensures privacy, assesses health needs, takes history, helps couple understand topics like sexual health, parenthood, family planning, and conception, helps them make decisions about their future
• Preconception care


  The provision of biomedical, behavioral and social health interventions to women and couples before conception occurs, to improve their health status and reduce factors that contribute to poor maternal and child health outcomes
• Key objectives of preconception care

  • Promoting reproductive health, identifying and managing health conditions, nutritional optimization, lifestyle modifications, genetic counseling, immunizations, screening for environmental exposures, psychosocial support
• Preconception care clinics are beginning to be set up in the community and in hospitals