The Centre of Research Excellence in Health in Preconception and Pregnancy (CRE HiPP) was founded to address a critical need: improving health outcomes for women and their babies before and during pregnancy. Led by Professor Helen Skouteris and funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, CRE HiPP focused on systemic change—creating evidence-based solutions at healthcare and societal levels, rather than placing responsibility solely on women.

Reflecting on the culmination of the CRE HiPP grant, Prof Skouteris said the real highlight was the Alliances and Networks that had been established, “to ensure that we are focused on the health issues that matter most to women during preconception and pregnancy, and to create non-stigmatising, non-racist and non-discriminatory solutions.”

These alliances include the Preconception Health Network, which recently expanded regionally to develop the Western Pacific Preconception Health Network, with members from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the Pacific.

Preconception Health Network Co-convenor and Co-chair, Associate Professor Jacqueline Boyle, said the support of CRE HiPP in providing the network with a section of the website to share their work and connect with like-minded researchers had been instrumental in its growth.

“Very excitingly, we have held the first Western Pacific Preconception Health conference in November in Kuala Lumpur, and we’re really hoping that that will galvanise preconception health research and networks in the coming years,” Assoc. Prof Boyle said.

Dr Briony Hill echoed these sentiments with CRE HiPP also providing a platform for the Body Positive Birth Alliance, a collective of consumers, clinicians, researchers, advocates and professional groups with the joint aim of challenging weight-centric maternity care, and directly addressing both unconscious and conscious weight stigma and discrimination.

Since its inception in 2020, CRE HiPP has also delivered groundbreaking real-world initiatives. The Optimal Me program, developed with Medibank Private, supports women from preconception through postpartum, promoting healthier lifestyles and better outcomes for mothers and babies. Its success is now informing a broader public healthcare trial.

Associate Professor Cheryce Harrison credited CRE HiPP with her work on Optimal Me – “the support was instrumental for me and my career trajectory,” she said. “It funded part of my fellowship to advance research in women’s health during pregnancy to positively impact women and their families.”

“Optimal Me involves engaging women when they boost their private health cover to include pregnancy and birth, which effectively signals their intention to conceive a pregnancy. We’re now using the results of the program to inform a wider implementation trial that will be delivered to a broader population of women in the public healthcare system, which is really exciting.”

Building researcher capacity was a cornerstone achievement of CRE HiPP, with 35 grants awarded totaling $240,000, supporting PhD students, clinicians, and early-career researchers. CRE HiPP also provided ongoing support to the Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum (HiPPP) Early and Mid-Career Researcher Collective International, which now boasts three branches in Australia/New Zealand, UK and Canada, holds an annual conference and connects nearly 300 researchers globally, fostering great collaboration and innovation.

Another great initiative of CRE HiPP included BITEs (Brokering Innovation Through Evidence), which allowed many PhD, early- and mid-career researchers opportunities to publish their research in a succinct “bite-sized” two-page format.

In summing up her thoughts on the CRE HiPP, Professor Leonie Callaway, Chair of the CRE, reflected on the focus of listening to what women wanted, and co-designing research with those it would impact, as a great achievement.

“I think that this has been actually something that’s been really pioneering and an incredible strength of CRE HiPP,” she said.

“What’s even more reassuring is that the outcomes of this grant, the connections that have been made, the research that has been established and is ongoing, will live well beyond the period of its funding.”

Prof Skouteris echoed Prof Callaway’s sentiments, and extended a sincere “thank you” to the all those involved – the academic partners, collaborators, CRE HiPP chief and associate investigators, PhD students, early- and mid-career researchers.

“Thank you, for being a part of this fabulous vision and journey.”

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