Healthy Pregnancies

Promoting the reproductive health of girls and women in B.C.

Healthy pregnancies are experienced by girls and women who have been supported to achieve optimal reproductive health.   

Health promotion activities related to promoting reproductive health and supporting girls and women to experience healthy pregnancies include:

• improving the health of girls and women before they conceive
• acknowledging the contribution of nutrition to good health before, during and after pregnancy. This entails supporting access to healthy foods, encouraging folic acid supplementation during the childbearing years and increasing knowledge about healthy weight gain during pregnancy
• empowering girls and women by providing access to quality reproductive health services
• helping girls and women to avoid, quit or reduce smoking, and the use of alcohol and other substances harmful to health
• providing access to high quality prenatal care and education
• supporting breastfeeding as the cultural norm and optimal method of infant feeding, and
• implementing strategies to support those women who are most vulnerable during pregnancy, and helping them to access needed care and other resources.

Building a strong foundation for reproductive health continues with the important task of providing post-partum care and support to parents and their newborn infants.

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