Investigation of the Effect of Pregnant Women's Maternal Health Literacy on Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors

Abstract

Highlights What are the main findings? What are the implications of the main findings?Highlights What are the main findings? What are the implications of the main findings?Abstract Background/Objectives: Health literacy (HL) plays a fundamental role in maternal and neonatal outcomes by influencing women's ability to access, understand, and apply health information during pregnancy. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between pregnant women's maternal health literacy levels and their healthy lifestyle behaviors. Methods: Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the Maternal Health Literacy Scale in Pregnancy (MHLS-P), and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale in Pregnant Women (HLBS-PW). Results: The mean MHLS-P score of the pregnant women was found to be 77.29 +/- 14.85, indicating a sufficient level of maternal health literacy. The mean HLBS-PW score was 118.21 +/- 14.87, indicating that the pregnant women exhibited healthy lifestyle behaviors above the moderate level. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the necessity of integrating systematic, health literacy-specific strategies into prenatal care based on prior health literacy assessments in order to promote informed decision-making and improve maternal and child health outcomes.