Improving health literacy in pregnant women from East London: A co-production project

Arti Dave, Madeleine Benton, Ngawai Moss, Gemma Cartwright, Ruksana Begum, Farzana Khanom, Yesmin Begum, Sultana Begum, Mandeep Kaler 

What is Health Literacy?

It is the ability to access, understand and use information to make informed decisions about health.

 

Why is it Important?

A higher level of health literacy has a direct link to better health outcomes. Being able to speak the language of a country directly affects your ability to navigate the health system. 

 

What about Pregnancy?

A pregnant woman’s health behaviours have a huge impact on the outcomes for them and the developing fetus 

Lower health literacy levels in pregnancy have been shown to:

• Increase risk of caesarean birth 
• Increase rate of small for gestational age babies 
• Lower APGAR scores at 5 minutes of life 
• Reduce uptake of vaccinations

 

Why does speaking English matter in Pregnancy?

• MMBRACE states that 30% of maternal deaths between 2020-2022 were women who were born outside of the UK, and 4% of maternal deaths were women who couldn’t speak English.
• A language barrier contributes to poor access, understanding and engagement with the health system