Since When am I "Pre-Pregnant"?

Last month the Washington Post reported on new federal guidelines which ask all females capable of conception to treat themselves-- and to be treated by the health care system-- as "pre-pregnant", apart from whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon or not.
In theory, the goal in creating these guidelines was to emphasize the importance of managing risk factors prior to pregnancy and to increase public awareness of the importance of preconception health.

At first glance, these concerns seem valid, as so much vital development occurs between conception and the time a pregnancy is confirmed. Indeed, the notion of preconception care is nothing new. Most of these guidelines are already well known to pregnant women and those seeking to become pregnant.

The problem, however, lies in the fact that they are to be universally applied to women. The very idea that every woman, regardless of her own reproductive plans, is simply a vehicle for birth reinforces unjust stereotypes that women's rights movements have worked so hard to crumble. Have I had "pre-pregnant" stamped across my forehead since puberty and have somehow failed to notice all these years?


The article does state that "experts acknowledge that women with no plans to get pregnant in the near future may resist preconception care", but this feeble concession hardly makes up for the dehumanizing nature of these guidelines.

Authors of the guidelines and supporting organizations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the March of Dimes, and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities) justify the new guidelines by pointing to the fact that nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and that the U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than those of most other industrialized nations.

While this does raise concern, it seems to me that a more appropriate response is to try to find the answer to the question "WHY?", rather than apply a band-aid to the situation.
Why is it that so many pregnancies in this country are unplanned? Could it be the absence of medically accurate sex education in schools? Perhaps lack of funding for family planning programs is a factor. Do the FDA delays in granting over-the-counter status to emergency contraception play a role?

Is anyone in Washington asking these questions?

While these new guidelines seek to address a very real problem, the method chosen demonstrates once again how this administration is using federal agencies to further its own conservative social agenda while failing to provide any concrete solution for the citizens it supposedly serves. Click here to read more...