Investigation of medication use patterns among pregnant women attending a tertiary referral hospital

Abstract

Background and Aims: Medication use during pregnancy presents a challenge and concern for pregnant women and healthcare providers. The aim of this study was to explore patterns and factors associated with medication use by pregnant women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in a gynecology and obstetrics outpatient clinic of a tertiary referral hospital in Turkey. Data were collected by a questionnaire between October 2019 and January 2020. The questionnaire was consisted of 35 questions about participants' attitudes towards the use of medication. The sociodemographic features, medication and herbal product use during the current pregnancy, and participants' attitudes towards the use of medication were investigated. Results:A total of 485 pregnant women were included in the study. The prevalence of using at Least one medication during the current pregnancy was 45.6%, whereas herbal product use was 3.9%. Overall., 10.5% of participants used medication to treat chronic/long-term diseases before pregnancy. The most frequently used drugs were agents for nervous system (32.8%), followed by anti-infective drugs (20.8%) and agents for the alimentary tract and metabolism (19.2%). Participants with university degree or higher education, who had chronic disease before pregnancy, who had one or more previous pregnancies, who had a planned current pregnancy, who were in the second or third trimester, and who were unemployed were likely to use at least one medication. Conclusion: Medication use is common in pregnancy and is associated with several maternal factors. The factors affecting medication use during pregnancy should be considered in order to incorporate them into clinical pharmacy practice when treating groups that need to be followed more closely in terms of drug use.