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Health education and information in pregnancy must be a priority, despite the lack of instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of the education and the fact that positive results can not be guaranteed. During research done for a Masters degree on the utilization of antenatal services by high risk primigravidae at the Tygerberg hospital, patients were interviewed on various aspects that are important during pregnancy, like family planning, breastfeeding, smoking and danger signs that may occur during pregnancy. It was found that education on smoking and alcohol had little impact. However, more patients felt positive about breastfeeding and family planning after they received information about it. A disturbing finding was that patients had very little knowledge about the danger signs that may occur during pregnancy. They did not know the reasons for the examinations and tests performed during pregnancy, although it probably had no negative effect on the attendance of the antenatal clinics. Most of the patients preferred a doctor rather than a nurse to give education and information. It is recommended that health education be looked at critically to ensure that it satisfies the needs of the patients and that the patients' pre-existing knowledge and their educational abilities are taken into consideration. Essential knowledge like the danger signs must be repeated at every visit and the patient's comprehension of it, must be evaluated. It is further not only important to extend the knowledge of nurses on health education, but also to evaluate their competence in giving health education.
Health education and information in pregnancy must be a priority, despite the lack of instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of the education and the fact that positive results can not be guaranteed. During research done for a Masters degree on the utilization of antenatal services by high risk primigravidae at the Tygerberg hospital, patients were interviewed on various aspects that are important during pregnancy, like family planning, breastfeeding, smoking and danger signs that may occur during pregnancy. It was found that education on smoking and alcohol had little impact. However, more patients felt positive about breastfeeding and family planning after they received information about it. A disturbing finding was that patients had very little knowledge about the danger signs that may occur during pregnancy. They did not know the reasons for the examinations and tests performed during pregnancy, although it probably had no negative effect on the attendance of the antenatal clinics. Most of the patients preferred a doctor rather than a nurse to give education and information. It is recommended that health education be looked at critically to ensure that it satisfies the needs of the patients and that the patients' pre-existing knowledge and their educational abilities are taken into consideration. Essential knowledge like the danger signs must be repeated at every visit and the patient's comprehension of it, must be evaluated. It is further not only important to extend the knowledge of nurses on health education, but also to evaluate their competence in giving health education.