Abstract Background and Objectives This study was conducted to examine the relationship between perceived risk during pregnancy and maternal health literacy, as well as the factors influencing these variables. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted with 338 pregnant women who attended the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Outpatient Clinic at Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University Hospital between November 2024 and April 2025. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews using the Personal Information Form, the Pregnancy Risk Perception Scale (PRPS) and the Pregnancy Maternal Health Literacy Scale (PMHLS). The Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests, as well as Spearman’s correlation analysis, were used to analyse the data. Results The median total score for the PRPS among pregnant women was 14.3 (Interquartile Range IQR = 52.2) and the median total score for the PMHLS was 83.9 (IQR = 42.2). It was observed that pregnant women’s risk perceptions regarding themselves (X̃ = 22.9) were higher than those regarding their babies (X̃ = 10.0). A strong, highly significant negative correlation was found between the two variables (rₛ = −0.86; p < 0.001). Furthermore, it was determined that pregnant women who were university graduates, non-smokers, had taken folic acid before pregnancy and iron supplements during pregnancy, had received a tetanus vaccination, and had attended antenatal classes had higher levels of health literacy and lower levels of risk perception. Conclusion The findings indicate that higher maternal health literacy is strongly associated with reduced perceived pregnancy-related risks. In this regard, multidisciplinary antenatal education programmes and preventive interventions that enhance health literacy can be utilised as an important clinical strategy to prevent pregnant women from overestimating risks and to facilitate informed risk management.
Donmez et al. (Wed,) studied this question.