Introdução: O planejamento da gravidez é condição indispensável para a realização do preparo pré-concepcional. No entanto, nem todas as mulheres que planejam a gravidez tomam medidas para melhorar sua saúde durante o período pré-concepcional. Os escassos estudos conduzidos no Brasil não elucidam as razões pelas quais isso ocorre nem tampouco identificam quais são as medidas adotadas entre aquelas que o realizam. Objetivos: Descrever a realização do preparo pré-concepcional entre mulheres com gravidez planejada; analisar os determinantes da realização do preparo pré-concepcional nesse grupo; e descrever as razões pelas quais as mulheres com gravidez planejada não realizaram o preparo pré-concepcional. Método: Estudo observacional do tipo transversal. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevista semiestruturada com 264 mulheres cuja gravidez em curso ou que ocorreu nos últimos cinco anos tenha sido classificada como planejada, em 2015. O cenário do estudo foram dois centros de saúde escola da cidade de São Paulo. A análise dos dados foi realizada no Stata 13.0, por meio de regressão logística univariada e múltipla. Resultados: Dentre as mulheres com gravidez planejada, mais da metade realizou o preparo pré-concepcional (62,1%). As medidas mais realizadas foram a procura por serviço de saúde, o uso de vitaminas e minerais e a realização de exames. Dentre as que não realizaram nenhuma medida de saúde para preparar-se para engravidar (37,9%), as razões mais citadas foram nunca ter ouvido falar sobre esse preparo e não conhecer serviços que oferecessem ações de preparo pré-concepcional. Mulheres de mais alta escolaridade, dos grupos econômicos A e B, mais velhas e com quadro de infertilidade foram as que tiveram mais chance de realizar o preparo pré-concepcional. Conclusão: Os resultados confirmaram que nem todas as mulheres com gravidez planejada realizaram o preparo pré-concepcional, tendo sido o desconhecimento sobre o mesmo e sobre os serviços que o ofertam a principal razão para tal. Por sua vez, as mulheres que realizaram o preparo pré-concepcional foram aquelas que reuniram perfis sociais mais favoráveis, como alta renda e escolaridade, o que revela sua determinação social. Experiência de infertilidade também foi determinante para sua realização, o que já era esperado. Por conta de sua importância nas condições de saúde materna e neonatal, o preparo pré-concepcional deve fazer parte das práticas cotidianas dos serviços de atenção básica no país. / Introduction: The planning for pregnancy is an indispensable condition for pre-conception preparation. However, even among women who plan pregnancy, only some of them take measures to improve their health during the preconception period. The few studies conducted in Brazil do not clarify the reasons why this occurs, nor identify the measures taken by those who perform it. Objective: To describe the realization of preconceptional preparation among women with planned pregnancy; to analyze the determinants of preconception preparation in this group; and to describe the reasons women with planned pregnancies did not perform the preconception preparation. Method: Observational cross-sectional study. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 264 women whose ongoing pregnancy or that had occured in the last five years has been classified as planned, in 2015. The scenarios of the study were two health center schools of São Paulo. Data analysis was performed using Stata 13.0, with univariate and multiple logistic regressions. Results: Among women who planned pregnancy, more than half reported a pre-conception preparation (62,1%).The most used practices were the seek of medical care, the use of vitamins and minerals and the realization of exams. Among women who did not perform any health preparation for pregnancy (37.9%), the most cited reasons were unknowledge of preconception care and of the types of health services offering preconception preparation actions. Women from a group with higher education and higher income (A and B), older and with an infertility background were the ones most likely to perform preconception preparation. Conclusion: The results confirmed that not every woman with planned pregnancies performed preconception preparation. The main reason for that is the lack of knowledge about it and about the servicesoffered. On the other hand, women who perform preconception preparation were those with more favorable social conditions. Infertility experience was also decisive for its realization, as was expected. Because of its importance in maternal and neonatal health, the preconception preparation should be part of the daily practices of primary care services in the country.

Introdução: O planejamento da gravidez é condição indispensável para a realização do preparo pré-concepcional. No entanto, nem todas as mulheres que planejam a gravidez tomam medidas para melhorar sua saúde durante o período pré-concepcional. Os escassos estudos conduzidos no Brasil não elucidam as razões pelas quais isso ocorre nem tampouco identificam quais são as medidas adotadas entre aquelas que o realizam. Objetivos: Descrever a realização do preparo pré-concepcional entre mulheres com gravidez planejada; analisar os determinantes da realização do preparo pré-concepcional nesse grupo; e descrever as razões pelas quais as mulheres com gravidez planejada não realizaram o preparo pré-concepcional. Método: Estudo observacional do tipo transversal. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevista semiestruturada com 264 mulheres cuja gravidez em curso ou que ocorreu nos últimos cinco anos tenha sido classificada como planejada, em 2015. O cenário do estudo foram dois centros de saúde escola da cidade de São Paulo. A análise dos dados foi realizada no Stata 13.0, por meio de regressão logística univariada e múltipla. Resultados: Dentre as mulheres com gravidez planejada, mais da metade realizou o preparo pré-concepcional (62,1%). As medidas mais realizadas foram a procura por serviço de saúde, o uso de vitaminas e minerais e a realização de exames. Dentre as que não realizaram nenhuma medida de saúde para preparar-se para engravidar (37,9%), as razões mais citadas foram nunca ter ouvido falar sobre esse preparo e não conhecer serviços que oferecessem ações de preparo pré-concepcional. Mulheres de mais alta escolaridade, dos grupos econômicos A e B, mais velhas e com quadro de infertilidade foram as que tiveram mais chance de realizar o preparo pré-concepcional. Conclusão: Os resultados confirmaram que nem todas as mulheres com gravidez planejada realizaram o preparo pré-concepcional, tendo sido o desconhecimento sobre o mesmo e sobre os serviços que o ofertam a principal razão para tal. Por sua vez, as mulheres que realizaram o preparo pré-concepcional foram aquelas que reuniram perfis sociais mais favoráveis, como alta renda e escolaridade, o que revela sua determinação social. Experiência de infertilidade também foi determinante para sua realização, o que já era esperado. Por conta de sua importância nas condições de saúde materna e neonatal, o preparo pré-concepcional deve fazer parte das práticas cotidianas dos serviços de atenção básica no país. / Introduction: The planning for pregnancy is an indispensable condition for pre-conception preparation. However, even among women who plan pregnancy, only some of them take measures to improve their health during the preconception period. The few studies conducted in Brazil do not clarify the reasons why this occurs, nor identify the measures taken by those who perform it. Objective: To describe the realization of preconceptional preparation among women with planned pregnancy; to analyze the determinants of preconception preparation in this group; and to describe the reasons women with planned pregnancies did not perform the preconception preparation. Method: Observational cross-sectional study. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 264 women whose ongoing pregnancy or that had occured in the last five years has been classified as planned, in 2015. The scenarios of the study were two health center schools of São Paulo. Data analysis was performed using Stata 13.0, with univariate and multiple logistic regressions. Results: Among women who planned pregnancy, more than half reported a pre-conception preparation (62,1%).The most used practices were the seek of medical care, the use of vitamins and minerals and the realization of exams. Among women who did not perform any health preparation for pregnancy (37.9%), the most cited reasons were unknowledge of preconception care and of the types of health services offering preconception preparation actions. Women from a group with higher education and higher income (A and B), older and with an infertility background were the ones most likely to perform preconception preparation. Conclusion: The results confirmed that not every woman with planned pregnancies performed preconception preparation. The main reason for that is the lack of knowledge about it and about the servicesoffered. On the other hand, women who perform preconception preparation were those with more favorable social conditions. Infertility experience was also decisive for its realization, as was expected. Because of its importance in maternal and neonatal health, the preconception preparation should be part of the daily practices of primary care services in the country.

Esta pesquisa investiga a percepção espacial que pessoas com deficiência visual têm da paisagem urbana. Compreende igualmente a sociabilidade das pessoas cegas com outros cidadãos, trazendo as questões do afeto, do conflito, do estranhamento, do estigma e do preconceito. Procura identificar os mecanismos subjetivos e emocionais de valoração do espaço que surgem durante os percursos, sem esquecer as condições físicas em que eles são feitos. Busca no reconhecimento de suas memórias os valores e a afeição pela paisagem. Entendendo que a paisagem é patrimônio coletivo e de partilha, pessoas cegas reclamam um tratamento igual de cidadãos e o acesso a ela, de maneira plena e independente. Pessoas com deficiência visual querem ser ouvidas e percebidas na cidade pelos seus talentos e capacidades, enquanto que a população insiste em reconhecê-las e rotulá-las apenas pelo que lhes falta. / This work researches the spatial perception that visual impaired persons have of the urban landscape. It also covers the social interactions of blind people with other citizens, discussing aspects of sympathy, conflicts, stigma, and prejudice. Furthermore, it seeks to identify the emotional - and subjective - mechanisms of evaluating the space that arise through the pathways, not disregarding its physical attributions. In addition it looks for the remembrance of values and affection towards the landscape. Based on the understanding that the urban landscape is a public and shared heritage, the visual impaired person claim equal treatment of citizens and independent access to it. People with visual impairment want to be heard and accepted for their talent and potential, while the population insists in recognizing and labeling them only for their disability.

Statement of Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of preconception health on adverse pregnancy outcomes through the theoretical lens of reciprocal determinism. Thus, this study aims to develop a preconception health conceptual framework that accounts for the interactive relationships among behavior, the environment, and the person. Rationale for the Study Women may not recognize a pregnancy until the first or second missed menstrual cycle, a full four to eight weeks or more after conception. Once a woman realizes the possibility of a pregnancy, it takes further time to confirm the pregnancy with a home pregnancy kit or a visit to the health care provider. In that time period, the woman may have unknowingly exposed her embryo to nutritional deficiencies, over-the-counter drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or other toxins. Because nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended, yielding about three million unintended pregnancies in the U.S. annually, there is a need to shift care to an earlier period in a woman's life cycle with greater potential to prevent birth defects and other adverse pregnancy outcomes, also known as preconception care. The preconception health movement began with the rationale that many adverse pregnancy outcomes are determined prior to prenatal care initiation. Thus, in addition to prenatal care, the need for preconception health arose. The empirical literature makes a strong case for the benefit of individual preconception health components and their effects on adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, the actual effectiveness of collective preconception health in reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes has not yet been demonstrated. In an effort to evaluate the impact of preconception health on maternal morbidity, infant morbidity, and infant mortality, this study examined the reciprocal relationships between environmental, personal, and preconception behavioral factors and their associations with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods A secondary data analysis was conducted using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data from 2005-2008 to test a preconception framework. Project 1 examined all variables in the preconception framework among the following states: Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, and Utah. Project 2 examined all variables except of two among all PRAMS-participating states. All of the variables in the proposed framework were derived from questions in the PRAMS survey or from PRAMS-linked birth certificate data. The research questions posed in this study were resolved through the path analyses of reduced and full iterations of the preconception framework in Projects 1 and 2. Results In Project 1, list-wise deletion of missing data resulted in a decrease from the original 27,933 participants to 12,239 participants. In Project 2, this action resulted in a decrease from the original 200,008 participants to 128,551 participants. The analysis of the reduced frameworks for both projects revealed extremely low R-squared values (1.1% or less). Subsequent analyses examining the full framework in Projects 1 and 2, as well as an additional post hoc analysis with supplementary PRAMS variables, resulted in R-squared values of 13.1%, 11.4%, and 30.5%, respectively. Implications This study examined the impact of preconception health behaviors on adverse pregnancy outcomes through the theoretical lens of reciprocal determinism. Preconception health behaviors alone accounted for a negligible portion of the variance associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. As hypothesized, preconception health behaviors work in concert with environmental factors, personal influences, prenatal and natal factors. Significant predictors supported in the literature included lower socioeconomic status, pregnancy intention, pregnancy history, older maternal age, black maternal race, Hispanic ethnicity, overweight maternal BMI, tobacco use prior to pregnancy, maternal complications, hospitalization during pregnancy, later prenatal care initiation, fewer prenatal care visits, plurality, and cesarean section. Even so, there is a large portion of the variance in adverse pregnancy outcomes that is not accounted for, and further examination is required.

Considering the ethnic difference in Brazil as a historic process, as many divergent ideas, it considers the school as primordial place for this discussions, however is difficult to find narratives about preconception situations. Starting this aspect, the aim paper is to understand how the process schooling black people was. The method used for investigation is qualitative nature, wanting to show the complexity interpersonal and social relations through of an approach autobiographic. The survey, where the subject is revealed to you and reveals to others is termed as autobiographic. The data was collected through narratives of three afrodescendant participants, considering your schooling process studied in public school. The participants selection were aleatory, where all were women. The analysis of narratives was fulfilled through transcription, highlighting the topics more important in the people interview. That were gather in analysis categories, such as: the family important, preconception practices and the school importance in the student black life. The primordial results paper is the importance of reflection about the values and preconceptions of yourself, reflecting about the specificity of relations between white and blacks and about the difficult of approximation between teacher and black students. Lastly, points up the importance of school institution as marking of values. This have a social and moral value to through of your practices provide a formation, which priority the respect the difference, a society humanization and egalitarian. / Este trabalho faz uma abordagem do tema educação com a diversidade étnica inserida no espaço escolar, buscando compreensões acerca da realidade escolar vivenciada por pessoas afrodescendentes. O estudo objetiva compreender, através das narrativas de participantes voluntários negros, como foi seu processo de escolarização. A metodologia usada para esta investigação é de cunho qualitativo, através de uma abordagem autobiográfica com destaque para as narrativas como um de seus instrumentos de coleta das informações, bem como para a memória como elemento basilar de pesquisa desta natureza. As pesquisas autobiográficas configuram-se como uma forma de pesquisa onde, segundo Abrahão (2004), o sujeito se desvela, para si, e se revela para os outros, como uma história autor/referente carregada de significado. Os dados foram coletados através das narrativas de três participantes afrodescendentes, centradas no processo de escolarização ao longo da vida revelando formas e sentidos múltiplos de existencialidade singular-plural, criativa e inventiva do pensar, do agir e do viver junto. A análise narrativa se constitui como um aspecto primordial e será ilustrada com recortes das narrativas recolhidas a partir de investigação realizada. Nesta etapa, podemos compreender exemplos narrados e constituídos como categorias de análise sobre a importância da família, práticas de preconceito e a importância do papel da escola na formação da identidade dos sujeitos negros. Este estudo não se finaliza na constituição deste trabalho, mas sim, abre mais portas para que seja publicado e chegar a outras pessoas para que possam, assim como eu, refletir sobre este tema que é fundamental na nossa sociedade contemporânea.

Referring to deafness is, automatically, allude the prejudice. After all, the deaf, for a long period of history, they were not accepted in society; on the contrary, they were distanced and had not meet their social and educational needs. The present study deal with deafness and prejudice and aims to understand the experience of prejudice suffered by deaf students during the school period, in the inclusive proposal, and to analyze the conception of the deaf parents about the prejudice suffered by their deaf children. For this purpose, four studies related to deafness and prejudice were carried out. In Study 1, a conceptual analysis was presented concerning the theme. In the Study 2, was conducted a systematic review, involving the articles that correlate the theme deafness and prejudice, in the period between January 2006 and December 2016, in two databases: SciELO and Pepsic. The objective was to identify what has been investigated and what still needs to be researched for the subject in question and, from there, to develop a study schedule for future research. Bibliometric and content analyzes were carried out on 15 articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the research. The results evidenced the need of further studies in the area. Study 3 aimed to understand the experience of prejudice experienced by the deaf university students during their school career in the inclusive proposal. For this purpose, a focal group with five deaf college students was performed out and, to verify the data, was used the content analysis proposed by Bardin. The results of this study presented, through the deaf discourses about the school experience until High School, manifestations of prejudice such as: the obligation to oralize in the classroom; the absence of interpreters; bullying; verbal violence; discrimination and exclusion. From the same subjects of study and analyzes, an article (Study 4) on School Inclusion of the Deaf was produced, aiming to understand the experience of deaf university students, during their trajectory, in the inclusive proposal. The results shows that the inclusion policies do not happen effectively for all: what happens is integration or a (pseudo) inclusion. It was perceived that the experiences of schooling of the deaf in this study were determined by precarious teaching conditions, compromised by the difficulties of their access to the natural language, by the lack of interpreter and by the predominance of the Portuguese language in the teaching. Later, was made an pioneering study (Study 5) that objective the analyze of understanding of deaf parents about the prejudice suffered by their children. Eight parents of deaf people participated, who gave an interview based on thematic axes that were analyzed through IRAMUTEQ software. The results of this study showed, through the parents' talks, how frequent the acts of prejudices suffered by the deaf, especially by health professionals, the family and the school. According to the five studies, the conclude is, in spite of advances in the laws, aiming, above all, at egalitarian treatments and without prejudice, it is also observed how common is the clinical medical view of society regarding deafness and, as a consequence, acts of prejudice. / Referir-se à surdez é, automaticamente, aludir ao preconceito. Afinal, os surdos, durante um longo período da história, não foram aceitos na sociedade; ao contrário, foram afastados e não tiveram atendidas suas necessidades sociais e educacionais. O presente estudo trata sobre a surdez e o preconceito e objetiva compreender a experiência do preconceito, sofrido por surdos universitários, durante o período escolar, na proposta inclusiva, bem como analisar a concepção dos pais de surdos acerca do preconceito sofrido pelos seus filhos. Para tanto, foram realizados quatro estudos relacionados à temática surdez e preconceito. No Estudo 1, apresentou-se uma análise conceitual referente ao tema. No Estudo 2, desenvolveu-se um Estado da Arte, envolvendo os artigos que correlacionam o tema surdez e o preconceito, no período compreendido de janeiro de 2006 a dezembro de 2016, em duas bases de dados: SciELO e Pepsic. O objetivo fora identificar o que tem sido investigado e o que ainda precisa ser pesquisado acerca da temática e, a partir daí, desenvolver uma agenda de estudos para futuras pesquisas. Executaram-se análises bibliométricas e de conteúdo de 15 artigos, que preencheram os critérios de inclusão da pesquisa. Os resultados evidenciaram a necessidade de novos estudos na área. O Estudo 3 teve como objetivo compreender a experiência do preconceito vivenciado pelos surdos universitários, durante sua trajetória escolar, na proposta inclusiva. Para tanto, realizou-se um grupo focal com cinco surdos universitários e, para verificar os dados, utilizou-se a análise de conteúdo proposta por Bardin. Os resultados deste estudo revelaram manifestações de preconceito, através das sinalizações dos surdos, em relação à experiência escolar, até o Ensino Médio, tais como: a obrigação em oralizar em sala de aula; a ausência de intérpretes; bullying; violências verbais; discriminações e exclusões. A partir dos mesmos sujeitos, métodos de estudo e de análise, produziu-se um artigo (Estudo 4) sobre a Inclusão Escolar dos surdos, com o objetivo de compreender a experiência destes universitários, durante sua trajetória escolar, na proposta inclusiva. Os resultados demonstram que as políticas de inclusão não acontecem efetivamente para todos: o que ocorre é a integração ou uma (pseudo) inclusão. Percebeu-se que as experiências de escolarização dos surdos analisadas nesse estudo, foram determinadas por condições precárias de ensino, comprometidas pelas dificuldades de acesso destes à língua natural, pela falta de intérprete e pelo predomínio da língua portuguesa no ensino. Posteriormente, realizou-se um estudo pioneiro (Estudo 5) que buscou analisar o entendimento dos pais de surdos sobre o preconceito sofrido pelos seus filhos. Participaram oito pais de surdos, que concederam uma entrevista a partir de eixos temáticos, analisados através do software IRAMUTEQ. As conclusões deste estudo expuseram, por meio das falas dos pais, como são frequentes os atos de preconceitos sofridos pelos surdos, especialmente originados dos profissionais de saúde, pela família e pela escola. De acordo com os cinco estudos, conclui-se que, apesar dos avanços nas leis, visando, sobretudo, a tratamentos igualitários e sem preconceitos, observa-se ainda como é comum a visão clínica terapêutica da sociedade com relação à surdez e, como consequência, os atos de preconceito. / São Cristóvão, SE

Esta pesquisa investiga a percepção espacial que pessoas com deficiência visual têm da paisagem urbana. Compreende igualmente a sociabilidade das pessoas cegas com outros cidadãos, trazendo as questões do afeto, do conflito, do estranhamento, do estigma e do preconceito. Procura identificar os mecanismos subjetivos e emocionais de valoração do espaço que surgem durante os percursos, sem esquecer as condições físicas em que eles são feitos. Busca no reconhecimento de suas memórias os valores e a afeição pela paisagem. Entendendo que a paisagem é patrimônio coletivo e de partilha, pessoas cegas reclamam um tratamento igual de cidadãos e o acesso a ela, de maneira plena e independente. Pessoas com deficiência visual querem ser ouvidas e percebidas na cidade pelos seus talentos e capacidades, enquanto que a população insiste em reconhecê-las e rotulá-las apenas pelo que lhes falta. / This work researches the spatial perception that visual impaired persons have of the urban landscape. It also covers the social interactions of blind people with other citizens, discussing aspects of sympathy, conflicts, stigma, and prejudice. Furthermore, it seeks to identify the emotional - and subjective - mechanisms of evaluating the space that arise through the pathways, not disregarding its physical attributions. In addition it looks for the remembrance of values and affection towards the landscape. Based on the understanding that the urban landscape is a public and shared heritage, the visual impaired person claim equal treatment of citizens and independent access to it. People with visual impairment want to be heard and accepted for their talent and potential, while the population insists in recognizing and labeling them only for their disability.

Bakgrund: Samhället ska värna sex- och samlevnadsundervisning, familjeplanering samt mödrahälsovård. Barnmorskan har en central roll att sprida kunskap inom området. Genom information till kvinnor och män om den prekonceptionella hälsans betydelse kan det skapas goda förutsättningar till familjebildning. Syfte: Att beskriva ungdomars kunskaper och inställningar om prekonceptionell hälsa samt vilken kunskap ungdomar efterfrågar angående detta. Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie med fokusgrupper genomfördes, varav en grupp med fem män i åldrarna 21-22 år samt en grupp med sju kvinnor som var 18 år. Datamaterialet analyserades med latent innehållsanalys.                                                                                                                         Resultat: Den kunskap ungdomarna hade om prekonceptionell hälsa var olika faktorers påverkan på fertiliteten. Fördelaktiga faktorer var varierad nyttig kost, träning och god sömn. Som negativ påverkan på fertilitet diskuterades tobak, alkohol, droger, mediciner, sjukdomar, ärftliga sjukdomar och cystor samt stress. Kunskap ungdomarna efterfrågade var att få information om prekonceptionell hälsa, vad de kunde påverka inför en eventuell framtida graviditet samt fakta om hur de olika faktorerna påverkade fertiliteten. Informationen ville de få av någon med  kunskap inom området. Slutsats: Information om prekonceptionell hälsa efterfrågades av ungdomarna, en ökad kunskap och medvetenhet om ämnet hos allmänheten skulle kunna generera positiva hälsoeffekter på individ- såväl som på samhällsnivå med en hälsosam befolkning som resultat. / Background: The society should be responsible for sexual education, family planning and maternal healthcare. The midwife has a central role when it comes to spreading knowledge within the area. By spreading information  to women and men about the importance of preconception health and care it could create good conditions to start a family.  Purpose: To describe young peoples knowledge and attitudes about preconception health and care and also about what kind of knowledge the youth asks about when it comes to it. Method: A qualitative interview study with focus groups was preformed which included a group of five men ages between 21-22 and a group of  seven women who all were 18 years old. The data was analyzed by latent content analysis. Results: The knowledge the young people had about preconceptional health and care were the effects of different factors on fertility. Beneficial factors were varied health diet, exercise and good sleep. As a negative influence on fertility, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, medicines, diseases, hereditary diseases and cysts were discussed as well as stress. Knowledge the young people asked for were information on preconceptional health and care, what could influence a possible future pregnancy and facts, how the various factors affected fertility. The youth wanted the information to be obtained from someone with knowledge within the field. Conclusion: Information on preconceptional health and care was asked about by the young people, increased awareness and awareness of the subject of  public could generate positive health effects at the individual- as well as at community level with a healthier population as a result.

Despite an initiative to provide preconception care (PCC) and reproductive life planning (RLP) for all women of childbearing age, many women, especially those with low incomes, are not receiving it. As a result, there continues to be a high rate of infant morbidity and mortality in this population. Furthermore, low income adolescent females have not been adequately studied regarding this phenomenon. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore low income adolescent females' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about PCC and RLP in order to serve them more effectively. Five low income adolescent females, aged 18 to 21, were recruited through criterion sampling and they each engaged in 2 individual in-depth interviews. The health belief model, social cognitive theory, and adolescent affective and cognitive theory were the conceptual frameworks used to develop the interview guide, conduct the interviews, analyze the data, and formulate the recommendations for future studies. Moustakas's phenomenological interview process was used as a guiding framework to prepare and conduct the interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed using Moustakas's modified version of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method of analysis. Findings were that participants (a) had no experiences with PCC or RLP, (b) lacked knowledge about preparing for pregnancy, (c) had negative interactions with medical personnel, and (d) wanted more information about PCC and RLP. Further research is recommended to examine current PCC/RLP practices, conduct additional PCC studies of adolescents, and develop culturally- and age-appropriate PCC programs. Findings from these studies could improve both the lives of the adolescents and the health of their offspring.

No description available.