Educational Effects of a Tailored Leaflet Addressing Drinking During Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: To examine the educational effects of a tailored leaflet on current drinking behavior, thoughts about drinking alcohol during pregnancy, and knowledge of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) among pregnant women. DESIGN: Intervention. PARTICIPANTS: We recruited pregnant women who were participating in maternity classes held at five municipal health centers in Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo in Japan. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered before and after distribution of either a tailored or a non-tailored leaflet and again after the women delivered their babies. RESULTS: More women read the non-tailored leaflet than the tailored one; this was because they felt they could read the non-tailored leaflet immediately. As for educational effects, the tailored leaflet was not superior to the non-tailored one in changing the women’s behavior, thoughts, or knowledge. CONCLUSION: It is more important for health education leaflets to seem easy to read in terms of volume than to be tailored.