Effective Communication around Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

This session explores the impact of communication and language on individuals and families experiencing adverse pregnancy outcomes. Drawing on co-produced research, it will examine how commonly used clinical terminology can affect patient experiences and introduce practical, evidence-based strategies for providing sensitive, individualised communication.

The session will provide opportunities to reflect on how these approaches can be applied in practice, helping staff minimise communication-related harms, reduce uncertainty, and support better experiences for patients, families and healthcare professionals.

By the end of the session, you should be able to:

• Recognise the range of impacts common clinical terminology can have on experiences of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
• Identify linguistic and communicative choices associated with distress or harm for those with current or past experience of adverse outcomes, and consider more acceptable alternatives.
• Use techniques to communicate sensitively and effectively in accordance with the needs of individuals and families in this context.