The History of "Every Woman"

On our just completed first webinar (yeah) we provided some brief information as to the origin of our name "Every Woman Southeast". We thought it might be good to share a bit more information about it here - to be sure to give credit where credit is due. Back in the early 1990s when the National Committee on Perinatal Health (COPH) was meeting to develop the recommendations for the report "Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy: The 90s and Beyond" (TIOP II, 1993) there was substantial interest in preconception care. During the meetings the following recommendation emerged... "The COPH recommends a new strategy to reach each woman of childbearing age with reproductive awareness messages at every health encounter. The goal is to reach all women from menarche to menopause with reproductive health promotion and health education. Reproductive awareness dialogue at every encounter will facilitate knowledge of risks, healthy behaviors, and family-planning options. This will empower the individual to take charge of her reproductive future." When the TIOP was rolled out, this recommendation was called "every woman, every time" in the press release. Arlene Cullum and Kiko Malin from California deserve much credit for popularizing the term "every woman" for preconception health work. Thank you to Arlene, Kiko and the many founding mothers and fathers who have helped create this wonderful new movement.