About Us
Inspiration/Our Story
Pregnancy is often referred to as the ultimate test on the human body, both physically and mentally. Too many future mothers approach this life-changing event ill-prepared and feeling unsupported; prospective fathers may be even less prepared.
It is likely that neither partner has heard of sperm developmental timelines – a 90-day process – which may influence pregnancy outcomes and generational health. Given that 50% of pregnancies occur unexpectedly, without the chance to mitigate preventable risks, the question arises, “What can be done to optimize the health of intimate partners before conception, and are there particularly high-impact windows of opportunity?”
Inspiration/Our Story
Pregnancy is often referred to as the ultimate test on the human body, both physically and mentally. Too many future mothers approach this life-changing event ill-prepared and feeling unsupported; prospective fathers may be even less prepared.
It is likely that neither partner has heard of sperm developmental timelines – a 90-day process – which may influence pregnancy outcomes and generational health. Given that 50% of pregnancies occur unexpectedly, without the chance to mitigate preventable risks, the question arises, “What can be done to optimize the health of intimate partners before conception, and are there particularly high-impact windows of opportunity?”
The founder of the Preconception Education Partnership (PEP), Amy Ogle, MS, RDN, a sports dietitian with an MS in exercise physiology, drew from lessons she had learned from crewing on an epic 2,930-mile nonstop bicycle race called the Race Across America (RAAM). Four ultra-endurance athletes along with the large multidisciplinary crew spent months preparing with a purpose. Come race day, all attention turned to the safety and care of the athletes. Six days, 2 hours, and 14 minutes later, they finished far better than anyone had predicted. No riders were injured or hospitalized – not even a missed shift – a claim that no other team that year could make. The bottom line, she reflected, was that the whole team shouldered responsibilities, and with ample preparation, they far surpassed the odds.
Ogle became the first credentialed dietitian/exercise physiologist to focus exclusively on pre-conception health literacy through a series of publications for the general public – first a video and booklet, then two books with an Ob-Gyn co-author, all themed “Before Your Pregnancy: A 90-Day Guide for Couples” (Penguin Random House). Now she shifts into the nonprofit sector to take it to the next level of collaboration and reach.
We're helping people gain power in their lives
Preconception health literacy is not just about preconception resources entirely aimed at the person who could become pregnant; it is also about the mutual well-being of individuals of reproductive capability because a more balanced, reasonable baseline level of health for each member of the couple bodes well for any children they might conceive.
- Routine Preconception Care & Prepared Parents: Both partners build competence and confidence long before conception, leading to more at-ease parents when pregnancy occurs.
- Stigma-Free Dialogue & Humor: PartnerPepTalk becomes a natural part of intimate conversations, using playful language to ease anxiety around traditionally delicate topics.
- Thriving Communities: Health insurance and public health policies support accessible biological, psychological, and social services, driving historic leaps in public health equity across generations.
We prioritize collaboration and coalition-building, multilevel interventions, and an abundance mindset as opposed to a scarcity mindset. To complement the re-shaping of healthcare equity for future generations, PEP and the PartnerPepTalk creative team prioritize representation of historically marginalized populations who bear the disproportionate burden of health disparities.
The Case
Women’s pre-pregnancy health is accepted as central to optimizing the odds for pregnancy safety and maternal child health (MCH) outcomes. Meanwhile, the importance of men’s preconception health is less familiar to the general public, healthcare providers, and insurers, despite being known to help – or harm – pregnancy and birth outcomes. Could traditional preconception health campaigns be expanded to include intimate partners, each with their own evidence-based supports?
The mission of the Preconception Education Partnership (PEP) is to elevate the role of future fathers and sperm health (including donors) while simultaneously centering the well-being of people who could become pregnant. Coalition-building could make this even stronger.
The global impact of prioritizing both partners’ reproductive healthcare more than doubles, since the pool of prospective fathers is always larger than prospective mothers. Vast economic benefits result from equitable preventive care before first impregnations or pregnancies, especially if high-risk unplanned pregnancies decrease.
PEP’s most innovative health literacy resource under development, the PartnerPepTalk, advocates for biological, psychological, and social supports for preconception readiness. The PartnerPepTalk online hub will be a model for communication that is first initiated between pediatricians and pre-adolescent patients and is repeated annually. The team approach to healthcare is introduced and reinforced at every touchpoint. The PartnerPepTalk is an “ice-breaker” to spark self-reflection on one’s reproductive life plan, promote conversations with one’s intimate partner(s), seek baseline healthcare (or optimize care of chronic medical conditions), and explore community support for food insecurity, alcohol and/or substance use disorders, smoking cessation, mental health, intimate partner violence, and other high-impact wrap-around services. LGBTQ+ or couples impacted by infertility or prior loss will find specially tailored PartnerPepTalk ice-breakers and vetted referral links.
Maternal-child health (MCH) crises are only partially explained by acute prenatal (pregnancy) and postpartum circumstances. To minimize biased conclusions, PEP advocates for approximately 25% of MCH attention to generational epigenetic forces that exist months, years, and generations before impregnation/conception, with the remaining 50% and 25% scrutiny on pregnancy and postpartum factors. Something as simple as this soft guideline, “25% preconception: 50% prenatal: 25% postpartum subject matter,” better explains inequities in maternal and infant mortality and complication rates. Journalists, researchers, policy influencers, educators, and clinicians can all help normalize addressing the full arch of pregnancy and birth outcome stories. Funding is needed for more research, civil discourse, and reporting on MCH crises that fully frame the issue.
Deliverables include PartnerPEPTalk social media campaigns, catchy posters and brochures, and newer innovations created for and by tomorrow’s generation of parents from Gen Y, Z, and Alpha. PEP welcomes opportunities to co-develop and co-brand deliverables with mission-aligned partners.
Feedback & Reviews
Audience feedback from pilot-testing the PartnerPepTalk multimedia campaign