Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate pregnant women’s health literacy, health practices and related factors.

Method: The cross-sectional and descriptive study included 224 volunteer pregnant women who were admitted to the gynecology policlinic of a university hospital between September 2021 and February 2022. “Pregnant Presentation Form”, the “Health Literacy Scale” and “Health Practices Questionnaire in Pregnancy” were used to collect data.

Results: The findings indicate that the mean score of the “Health Literacy Scale” of pregnants was 112.62±14.03, while the mean score of the “Health Practices Questionnaire in Pregnancy” was 130.97±14.66, and there was a significant positive correlation between the mean values for both scales (p< 0.01, r=0.555). A significant association was found between pregnant women’s place of residence, family type, occupation, education, income level, pregnancy planning, use of folic acid and iron medication, and health literacy and health practice (p< 0.05). It also found that women’s health literacy and pregnancy health practices decreased with increasing years of marriage, pregnancy, birth and children (p< 0.05).

Conclusion: The study found that pregnant women had high health literacy and good health practices. Additionally, the increase in health literacy during pregnancy is associated with improved health practices.