How well are people around the world prepared for pregnancy and parenthood?

Take part in our study to help us find out.

Complete the survey now (open until 22 May 2026)

The iCIPHE Alliance are conducting a study to reach international agreement on key topics (also called measures or indicators) that can help track how well-prepared people are for pregnancy and parenthood (women, men, people with other gender identities).

Who can take part in the survey?

To capture the opinions from different people, four groups are asked to take part in the survey:

Members of the public (individuals aged 18-49 years or representatives of the public for example through a non-profit or community-based organisation)
Health and social care professionals
Policy and programme professionals
Researchers

The survey is available in 11 languages: English, Amharic, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch, Japanese, Mandarin, Urdu, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and French.

What does it involve?

Complete an online survey - this may take 10-15 minutes.
Optional: you can also choose to take part in optional follow-up discussions, including an online meeting and in-person/online workshop in Geneva, to talk about the findings with other participants.
Taking part in this study is free and we are not able to pay you for participating.

Why take part?

Your input will shape recommendations to guide governments and health agencies on what to measure on how well-prepared and well-supported people are for pregnancy and parenthood. This will ultimately inform tailored health services and policies based on population needs and improve maternal and child health.

Ethics approval: University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine Ethics Committee (ERGO 104447).

Study registration: COMET Database.

Study protocol: preprint publication.

Danielle Schoenaker, Jennifer Hall, Ghadir Fakhri Al-Jayyousi, Ana Luiza Vilela Borges, Palwende R. Boua, Jerry Kok Yen Chan, Tamar Chitashvili, Ilse Delbaere, Anastasia Demidova, Kassahun Fikadu, Sarah Fisher, Avishek Hazra, Sharon James, Chee Wai Ku, Eri Maeda, Zahid Memon, Daniel Munblit, Annemarie Mulders, Zivai Murira, Wendy V. Norman, Amy Ogle, Vani Sethi, Hessa Ibrahim Shahbic, Nadira Sultana Kakoly, Sarah Verbiest, Judith Stephenson, for the International Core Indicators for Preconception Health and Equity (iCIPHE) Alliance*. Developing internationally agreed core indicators for surveillance of preconception health: protocol for a consensus study. medRxiv 2026.

* Members of the iCIPHE Alliance who contributed to this study protocol include: Hanan F. Abdul Rahim, Zeleke Abebo, Nisreen A. Alwan, Annick Bogaerts, Emma Hope Cassinelli, Andrea R. Deussen, Jodie M. Dodd, Keith M. Godfrey, Briony Hill, Patricia A. Janssen, Zohra S. Lassi, Coral Maloney, Salima Meherali, Megan Mitchell, Monica Shrivastav, Melese Siyoum, Helen Skouteris, Catherine Stewart, Francesca Storey, Janine Winterbottom, Andrea M.F. Woolner.