Fourth, preconception care for men
can result in improved reproductive
health practices and outcomes for
women.Mencan be a vital source of support
or stress for women during pregnancy,
birth, and parenting. Men often
play a controlling/gatekeeper role in decisions
around prenatal care, delivery
services, and other health-seeking behaviors.
While paternal permission for
access to modern reproductive health
services is not a major issue in the US,
this is not true all over the globe. Men
also play important roles in fostering or
discouraging important maternal health
behaviors such as smoking, drinking,
physical fitness, and healthy nutrition.
Women who live with a smoking partner,
for example, are less likely to reduce
smoking than women who live with a
nonsmoking partner,5 not to mention
the impact of secondhand smoke on the
developing fetus. Men’s preconception
care therefore offers an opportunity to
promote male support of women’s positive
reproductive health and health
care-seeking practices.