Public Health, Pregnancy and Parenthood

You will develop a conceptual and practical understanding of public health issues applied to the 1001 critical days. This is the time from conception to a child’s second birthday.

By exploring a range of public health issues, you will gain an understanding of how commonly encounter public health problems can be approached. You will have the opportunity to explore the social, political and policy context of maternity care and other health services in the UK.

Our lecturers are leading experts in public health related fields.

Who is it for?

This postgraduate course is for anyone interested in public health issues related to maternal and child health. Midwives, health visitors, policy makers and researchers are among those who would benefit from this course.

Timetable

*Term 3 - 2026-7 (Provisional dates)*

Apr: Wednesday 28 April 2027
May: Wednesdays 5, 12, 19 and 26 May 2027
Jun: Wednesdays 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 June 2027

Benefits

This course provides an excellent foundation for any professionals interested in pursuing a career within the public health arena related to maternal and child health.

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

This short course module is designed to be flexible in allowing you to study and reach your goals at your own pace. Our health CPD courses are credit-bearing modules that contribute to a University degree or award.

Transfer course credits towards postgraduate taught degree

As a health care professional, once you've completed this course you could offset 15 credits as part of a postgraduate programme, continuing your study with further modules to make up a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) 60 credits, Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) 120 credits or Master of Science (MSc) 180 credits qualification (all credits must be awarded within five years of study commencing).

This course is about exploring and discussing a wide range of public health issues related to pregnancy and parenthood.

You will build on your existing knowledge by drawing on relevant professional experience and interventions designed to improve communities’ health outcomes.

The course content includes:

- An introduction to public health, history and theory.
- Social determinants of health and health inequalities.
- A critical analysis of how to promote healthy pregnancies, childhood and parenthood.

Public health topics such as:

• Behavioural change
• Perinatal mental health
• Pre-conception care
• Abortion care
• Working within systems

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Critically evaluate how the public health agenda impacts maternity and other health services and maternal and child health outcomes.
• Utilise appropriate theories to analyse the causes of inequalities in health within and between different social groups accessing the maternity services.
• Identify and examine the social and cultural dimensions of maternal and child health.
• Critically appraise the potential impact of social, psychological and cultural variables on parenthood.
• Analyse the strengths and limitations of data used in assessing health needs.
• Make recommendations for how to improve public health, considering local health needs, priorities and resources.
• Produce a response to an emerging public health scenario in maternity care, using a structured and evidence-based approach.
• Reflect upon personal values, social attitudes and beliefs that may impact upon your professional practice.
• Develop ways of working that mitigate disadvantage, discrimination and inequalities.
• Challenge ineffective and entrenched ways of working which are not in the best interested of women or their families.

Teaching

This module is taught over 10 weeks. You will attend live online seminars one day per week during this time. Most of the lecturers and guests who teach on this course have public health expertise.

This module will use a blended learning approach, and a range of learning activities will be used. These activities include: pre-recorded lectures, synchronous online lectures, student led activities (such as presentations and debates), online learning, group discussions and self-directed learning. All these activities will include self-directed resources and will help you develop relevant skills and knowledge, and apply them through presenting, discussing and analysing case studies from your area of practice.

Assessment

There are two components to the assessment of this course;

Health Needs Assessment workbook (30%)

In this 1000-word workbook you will be asked to complete questions to help you conduct a health needs assessment for a location of your choice. Questions will focus on local health issues, including their prevalence and information on who lives in the area. This assessment will help you develop skills regarding finding and summarising up-to-date health data using information sources. This assessment will also help you identify a local health or service issue that needs improvement – your Call to Action issue. This workbook is 30% of your module mark.

Call to Action report (70%)

In this report, you will be expected to produce a report on your ‘Call to Action’ issue. In this 2000-word report you will have the opportunity to develop your issue, including, appropriate prevalence data, information on health risks and subsequently discuss how to improve health outcomes and provide evidence-based recommendations. This report will help you develop your academic writing and gain experience of report presentation and production – an essential skill in public health. This report is 70% of the mark for this module.

In order to pass the module and acquire the associated credit, you must complete both assessments and achieve a weighted average module mark of 50% or above You must achieve at least 50% to pass. This report is 100% of the mark.

This is a 15 credit elective module at master’s level and can be chosen towards any eligible programmes.

This course is provided by the School of Health & Medical Sciences.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

Non EEA students can only apply as part of a programme, not as a stand-alone module.

English requirements

If your first language is not English, one of the following is required:

• A first degree from a UK university
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America.
• International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.

Once enrolled onto the module you will receive a handbook with essential and recommended literature. Also, the tutor will suggest material during the class.