[Current practice of positive family planning service in the National Institute of Child Health in the last six years]. / A pozitív családtervezés gyakorlata az Országos Gyermekegészségügyi Intézetben - az elmúlt hat év tükrében.

The aim of positive family planning is to prevent preterm delivery and congenital abnormalities. Using primer prevention models at this time helps to prevent the common disorders which are the leading causes of death. The mission of the National Institute of Child Health is to promote preconceptional health and thus, mother and baby's health. This article introduces the practice of our institute's family planning department and the last six years' experiences.

[Family planning in Hungary: past and present]. / A családtervezés Magyarországon: múlt és jelen.

Periconceptional Care Service begins 3 month before the planned pregnancy and continues until 12th week of pregnancy. Its goal is to prevent congenital abnormalities (CAs) and preterm birth. Nowadays, 20-25% of infant mortality is caused by CAs in industrialized countries and CAs are among the leading causes of death. An important feature of CAs is that they represent a defect condition; therefore it's difficult to achieve a complete recovery. Thus, prevention is considered the only optimal solution in the medical care of cases affected with CA. In the last 25 years, several studies confirmed the possible prevention of CAs mainly neural-tube defects (NTDs) by folic acid supplementation during periconceptional period. Family Planning Service exists in Hungary since 1984. This model is optimal for the introduction of periconceptional folic acid/multivitamin supplementation, thus provide an effective method for primary prevention of birth defects.