Socially disadvantaged women's views of barriers to feeling safe to engage in decision-making in maternity care

Understanding the Experiences and Needs of Migrant Women Affected by Female Genital Mutilation Using Maternity Services in Australia

“…Many women in our study stated that they were not adequately engaged in their health care because of low levels of health literacy, inadequate information and unfamiliarity with their health rights. Again, these findings concur with other studies [50,51] and confirm that women's participation in the process of health information design leads to more satisfying and positive experiences with enhanced health outcomes [52]. Health literacy programs that involve women designing and delivering programs not only build the capacity of women to facilitate the sharing of stories and experiences but also empowers women to support others in their community [53].…”

“…The involvement of mental health consumers in the education of nurses also showed improvements in nurses' communication skills and decreased cultural barriers for consumers as well as reduced discrimination [77]. The integration of cultural safety in practice is challenging as it requires the involvement of service users in the co-design of such services and involving a vulnerable population requires a paradigm shift in power differences between service users and health professionals [51]. Future health services need to be co-produced with women to disrupt the inherent power imbalances.…”

Needs of parents and professionals to improve shared decision‐making in interprofessional maternity care practice: A qualitative study

“…Of course, parents’ abilities and preferences to prepare for shared decision‐making vary and can be related to demographic and social variables such as health literacy and education levels . In order to invite and empower parents for shared decision‐making, professionals have to learn how to identify individual abilities and preferences for shared decision‐making and how to tailor care provision …”

Building capacity and wellbeing in vulnerable/marginalised mothers: A qualitative study

“…They also have an increased risk of maternal mortality (7,11), preterm and low birth weight (LBW) babies (5) as well as perinatal death and infant mortality (12). These women often feel they have less agency and choices when making decisions about their maternity care (13) and may experience higher levels of obstetric intervention (14).…”