[Perinatal health in Rotterdam, the Netherlands--experiences after 2 years of 'Ready for a baby'].

The primary goal of the Rotterdam-based health programme 'Ready for a baby' is an improvement in perinatal results via improved, risk-directed care shared across disciplines. After 2 years we conclude that many women who are or who will become pregnant lack knowledge about perinatal risk factors. They are, however, positive about preconception care. High-risk groups can best be accessed via group-based education; results of individual preconceptual care consultations are still limited. We developed and tested a new risk-screening instrument to screen pregnant women during the first antenatal consultation. We directed more attention to non-medical risks, which are often poverty-related. The experiences from our Rotterdam-based programme provide the incentive to experiment with programme-based preconception care, new risk selection during pregnancy and accessing high-risk groups in other communities in the Netherlands.

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