Disparities in Comprehension of the Obstetric Consent According to Language Preference Among Hispanic/Latinx Pregnant Patients

Background: We assessed understanding of the obstetric consent form between patients with English andSpanish language preference.Methods: This observational study included pregnant patients who identified as Hispanic/Latinx withEnglish or Spanish language preference (defined as what language the patient prefers to receive healthcareinformation) and prenatal care providers at a large academic medical center from 2018 to 2021. Patientdemographics, language preference, literacy, numeracy, acculturation, comprehension of the obstetricconsent, and provider explanations were collected.Results: We report descriptive statistics and thematic analysis with an inductive approach from 30 patientswith English preference, 10 with Spanish preference, and 23 providers. The English group demonstrated 72%median correct responses about the consent form; the Spanish group demonstrated 61% median correctresponses. Regardless of language, the participants demonstrated limited understanding of certain topics,such as risks of cesarean birth.Discussion: Overall comprehension of key information in an obstetric consent form was low, withdifferences in language groups, which highlights opportunities for improvements in communication acrosslanguage barriers. Innovations in the communication of critical pregnancy information for patients withlimited English proficiency need to be developed and tested