WRISK: Engaging women to improve risk communication on pregnancy (360G-Wellcome-212089_Z_18_Z)

The interface between public health guidance and maternal autonomy is highly contested in UK society and issues across the reproductive decision-making spectrum - from the appropriate age for women to conceive, to diet and lifestyle choices in pregnancy, to decisions about birth – are presented within a risk framework that often does not allow women to critically engage with the underpinning evidence. A tension between individual autonomy and health advice is exacerbated by a cultural context in which mothers are commonly held maximially responsible for the life chances of their children. Recent research has called for a more nuanced approach to risk communication, transparency about the principles underpinning guidance, better communication of the evidence base, and a better appreciation of the complex lived experience of pregnancy planning, pregnancy and birth. The WRISK project takes a solution-focused approach to this contested space, bringing together the interests of public health policy with the complex and varied interests of women themselves, to produce principles for a more respectful and acceptable approach to risk communication. The WRISK project also seeks to empower women by involving them in co-producing principles for communication and providing a platform for critical appraisal and discussion of risks.