A Lifecourse Approach to Maternal and Child Health: From Preconception to Population Health

Obstetrics and Gynaecology Symposium
A Lifecourse Approach to Maternal and Child Health: From Preconception to Population Health

Date: 19 Sep 2025, Friday | Time: 1025 - 1205 | Track Type: Symposium | Venue: PSL2, Level 2, Academia

The alarming fall in fertility rates globally is mirrored by the sharp rise in obesity and metabolic disease. Preconception is a critical period to optimize gamete function and early placental development, and achieving optimal health around the conception period has been shown to improve fertility and long-term mother-child health (MCH) outcomes. Changes in social and lifestyle factors have also led to increasing rates of metabolic and mental health problems. However, the current maternal-child health system is ill-equipped for this purpose. Thus, there is an urgent need to translate knowledge into action and implement a holistic preconception program that aims to optimize medical, fertility, and lifestyle factors, to improve fertility in the short-term, as well as MCH in the long-term. The Healthy Early Life Moments in Singapore (HELMS) is a novel model of care that is empowered by mobile health to deliver lifestyle interventions before conception, throughout pregnancy, until 18 months after delivery. The modules are designed to provide anticipatory guidance, raise awareness, and guide goal setting on lifestyle behaviours that include diet, physical activity, mental wellness, and sleep hygiene from preconception to postpartum. In addition, the use of Artificial Intelligence has empowered clinical decision making and prognostication. Insights from this study will pave the way to implement this novel model of care that adopts a holistic intervention throughout the life-course, with greater integration of care between primary and tertiary healthcare systems and ongoing community efforts to engage and support women and her family in this journey.

TOPIC 1:
Healthy Early Life Moment in Singapore – The New Paradigm in Maternal-Child Health
Speaker: Prof Jerry Chan Kok Yen

TOPIC 2:
Spotlight on Preconception Health
Speaker: Asst Prof Ku Chee Wai

TOPIC 3:
Rethinking Fertility Care: Addressing Male Health Gaps through the TOFFFY
Speaker: Asst Prof Loy See Ling

TOPIC 4:
Providing the Best Start to Life for Your Child
Speaker: Dr Ong Chengsi

TOPIC 5:
Using Artificial Intelligence, Agentic Workflows, and Electronic Health Records Data to Gain Insights into Child Development
Speaker: Dr Tudor Groza