Preconception Counseling in Women With Diabetes: A population-based study in the North of England

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of preconception counseling with markers of care and maternal characteristics in women with pregestational diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study includes data from a regional multi-center survey on 588 women with pregestational diabetes who delivered a singleton pregnancy between 2001 and 2004. Logistic regression was used to obtain crude and adjusted estimates of association. RESULTS: Preconception counseling was associated with better glycemic control 3 months preconception (odds ratio 1.91, 95% CI 1.10–3.04) and in the first trimester (2.05, 1.39–3.03), higher preconception folic acid intake (4.88, 3.26–7.30), and reduced risk of adverse pregnancy outcome (P = 0.027). Uptake of preconception counseling was positively associated with type 1 diabetes (1.87, 1.14–3.07) and White British ethnicity (2.56, 1.17–5.6) and negatively with deprivation score (0.78, 0.70–0.87). CONCLUSIONS: Efforts are needed to improve preconception counseling rates. Uptake is associated with maternal sociodemographic characteristics.