Approach to external cephalic version through social media: experience from a tertiary center in Brazil

TL;DR

This study used Instagram to educate pregnant women about external cephalic version and found that knowledge improved significantly after reading the content.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel use of Instagram for health education on external cephalic version and demonstrates its effectiveness in improving patient understanding.

Findings

A statistically significant improvement in knowledge about external cephalic version was observed after reading Instagram content.

98.5% of participants said they would discuss external cephalic version with other pregnant women.

84.96% of participants indicated they would undergo the procedure if medically indicated.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a communication and health education page on external cephalic version through the social media Instagram and, second, to assess the degree of patients’ prior understanding of the external cephalic version procedure.

We conducted a prospective cohort study on 133 singleton pregnancies (until 41 weeks of gestation), for which an online questionnaire (Google Forms) was applied on the social media Instagram, with four sections. The questionnaire was applied between January 2022 and December 2023. Before the intervention (reading the content displayed on Instagram), sections 1, 2, and 3 were applied, and after reading, section 4. Pregnant women of any gestational age who received prenatal care at our service were included. Patients<14 years of age and those who could not read were excluded.

A statistically significant difference was found after reading the content made available on Instagram, with a positive evolution after reading (p<0.001). Of this sample, 100% felt that knowledge about the external cephalic version should reach the major population of pregnant women, 131 (98.50%) opined that they would talk to other pregnant women about it, and 113 (84.96%) said that they would perform the procedure if they had indications for it.

This study provided a comprehensive overview of pregnant women's knowledge about external cephalic version. Through the results obtained, it is possible to observe the evolution of pregnant women's knowledge about external cephalic version after reading the content available on Instagram. In addition, the pregnant women expressed a strong desire to share information about the external cephalic version with other pregnant women.