Maternal health literacy, pregnancy outcome and birth weight

<p>Nooshin Peyman and Sara Kharazi</p>

Maternal health literacy, pregnancy outcome and birth weight

Nooshin Peyman and Sara Kharazi

Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran

: Androl Gynecol: Curr Res

Abstract

Maternal health literacy can be defined as the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of women to gain access to understand and use this information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between maternal health literacy level, pregnancy outcome and birth weight. In a cross-sectional study (a descriptive-analytical one), 120 pregnant women who received prenatal care from health centers of Mashhad were selected by multistage randomized cluster sampling method. Data collected by using maternal health literacy and pregnancy outcome questionnaire. Obtained data was analyzed by SPSS software. Results showed the mean of maternal health literacy was 42.47±7.54, the least and the most scores of that were 21 and 56, respectively. There was a significant relationship between maternal health literacy and educational level, incomes, living place, number of pregnancies, time start taking care and care taken during pregnancy, birth weight, consumption supplements and anemia (p<0.05). Pearson correlation coefficient showed significantly positive correlation between health literacy and pregnancy outcome (p<0/001). But there were no significant relationships between maternal age and pregnancy outcome and health literacy. According to this study, there was a significant relationship between maternal health literacy and prenatal care, pregnancy outcome and birth weight. Though it is necessary to promote maternal health literacy through health promotion programs.