title: Current practice and future interest of GPs and prospective parents in pre-conception care in The Netherlands.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Evidence for the effectiveness of pre-conception care is growing. GPs are among the possible providers of pre-conception care.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our first aim was to investigate current pre-conception care activities of GPs and to determine whether prospective parents would visit the GP in the existing health care system. A further aim was to determine the interest of GPs and prospective parents in the introduction of pre-conception care clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was conducted among 200 GPs and 303 recently married couples (606 individuals).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the eligible GPs, 52% (n = 102) participated, as did 70% (n = 381) of the eligible individuals who are planning a pregnancy. In the current situation, only a few individuals visit their GP pre-conceptionally, and many GPs do not discuss family history or consanguinity with prospective parents. In general, the GPs and prospective parents had a positive attitude towards the introduction of pre-conception care clinics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since most GPs and prospective parents favoured the introduction of pre-conception care, future research should focus on the most appropriate way of implementation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Genetics and Human Genetics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Francis A M
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Poppelaars
authors.forename: Martina C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cornel
authors.forename: Leo P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Ten Kate
mesh_terms: D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D016742:Preconception Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires