The toolkit aims to help you feel confident when talking about health and wellbeing before pregnancy.
The toolkit was created after local partners in Derby and Derbyshire told us they often struggled to find clear, reliable information about preconception health. This resource brings everything together in one place.
The toolkit helps you start simple, meaningful conversations about healthy behaviours before and during pregnancy. It includes:
- clear, up‑to‑date advice you can share
- signposting to guidance and resources to support conversations
- practical steps for promoting healthy choices
Preconception health is often missed in everyday conversations outside healthcare settings. This toolkit supports you to talk about it whether someone is:
- planning a pregnancy
- unsure about having children
- not actively preventing pregnancy
Each page in the toolkit covers a different topic linked to preconception and healthy pregnancy.
To use it, simply choose a topic from the preconception menu.
Healthy habits started before pregnancy can have long‑lasting benefits. They can reduce the risk of long‑term illnesses and support better physical and mental development for babies and children.
Sharing clear information about the risks that can affect pregnancy, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, or unmanaged long‑term health conditions, can help people make positive changes before they become pregnant.
When people understand the risks and know simple ways to reduce them, they feel more confident about their health and their baby's health. This confidence often leads to healthier habits and better outcomes for both parents and children.
Some communities face more barriers to good health than others, especially those with lower incomes, ethnic minority groups, or people living in rural areas. Making preconception support fair and accessible helps to reduce these health gaps and improves outcomes for all families.
The language used throughout the online toolkit
Families in Derbyshire are all different. People have different backgrounds, ages, abilities, and ways of living.
We aim to use language that is inclusive and respectful, and easy to understand.
To keep this toolkit clear and consistent, we primarily use the term 'women'. This term is intended to include all individuals who may become pregnant, regardless of gender identity.
We recognise, however, that different experiences can vary across genders, and may not be the same for those who identify as women.
We are committed to using inclusive language and welcome your feedback.
Trauma Informed Derbyshire: Foundation learning
Trauma Informed Derbyshire offers a free, interactive 3-module online course, available to all partners, practitioners, volunteers, and staff across Derbyshire and Derby until April 2027.
Developed in partnership with Research in Practice, the course explores the nature of trauma, the lived experiences of survivors, and the shift toward trauma-sensitive practice.
Integrating trauma-informed principles into preconception care ensures that conversations around fertility, pregnancy preparation, and early parenthood are delivered with empathy, awareness, and the capacity to respond to people's past experiences.