SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Access and Barriers to Reproductive Health Services
This article is part of the Research TopicDelivery Mechanisms for Preconception Care: Experiences from Low- and Middle-Income CountriesView all 4 articles
Factors influencing preconception care awareness and knowledge among women in Africa: A systematic review
Provisionally accepted
Patience Fakornam Doe
Amidu Alhassan*Boahemaa Adu OtchereFrank Offei Odonkor
Isaac Aidoo ErzuahYvonne Dorothy MintahHilda Kessewah Koranteng
Mustapha Amoadu- University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Preconception care (PCC) plays a critical role in enhancing maternal and neonatal health by addressing risk factors before pregnancy. Most existing reviews focus on PCC outcomes such as utilisation with limited attention to factors influencing PCC awareness and knowledge. This review addressed this gap by synthesising evidence on PCC awareness and knowledge levels and by examining the associated risk and protective factors among women in Africa. Methods: The review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five main databases (PubMed Central, AJOL, Web of Science, Scopus, and JSTOR) were searched in March 2025, and 27 articles met the eligibility criteria for inclusion. The JBI critical appraisal checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies. Data were analysed using a narrative review approach to evaluate awareness and knowledge levels, as well as the risk and protective factors influencing PCC. Results: Awareness levels of PCC ranged from 5.9% in Ethiopia to 91% in Tanzania, while knowledge levels varied from 11% in Sudan to 70% in Tanzania. Low awareness and knowledge were associated with risk factors such as low education, poor socioeconomic status, limited healthcare access, lack of antenatal care, and adverse pregnancy histories. Protective factors contributing to higher PCC awareness and knowledge included higher educational attainment, greater economic stability, more frequent antenatal care visits, greater media exposure, and improved access to counselling and support services. Conclusion: Despite encouraging progress in some regions, significant gaps in PCC awareness and knowledge remain across African countries, particularly in low-resource settings. Bridging these gaps will require context-specific educational strategies, policy support, and expanded access to quality healthcare services tailored to African health systems.
Keywords: Preconception Care, Maternal health, knowledge, Risk factors, Protective factors
Received: 09 Sep 2025; Accepted: 21 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Doe, Alhassan, Otchere, Odonkor, Erzuah, Mintah, Koranteng and Amoadu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Amidu Alhassan, amidualhassan24@gmail.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.