The WRISK Project: Understanding and improving the communication of risk relating to pregnancy

Summary

Pregnant people receive many public health messages that are intended to guide their decision making; intended to improve outcomes for babies and mothers. However, there is growing concern that messages do not always fully reflect or explain the evidence base underpinning them, and that negotiating the risk landscape can sometimes feel confusing, overwhelming, and disempowering. This may negatively affect women’s experiences of pregnancy and motherhood, and be exacerbated by a wider culture of parenting that tends to blame mothers for all less-than-ideal outcomes in their children.

The WRISK Project draws on women’s experiences to understand and improve the development and communication of risk messages in pregnancy.

Content