A large percentage of the women in the study used herbal remedies during pregnancy--many of them without informing their doctor or midwife. Doctors or midwives should ask pregnant women if they use herbal remedies during pregnancy. Health care personnel should be open to discuss the use of herbal remedies during pregnancy and be able to give balanced information as the use is so widespread.

BackgroundThough nausea and vomiting is very common during pregnancy, no studies have investigated the impact of this condition on the women’s daily lives in a Scandinavian population. The aim of this study was to describe the burden of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) on global quality of life, daily life functioning and willingness to become pregnant again according to the severity of NVP symptoms.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in Norway. Pregnant women and mothers with children <1 year of age with current or prior NVP were eligible to participate. Data were collected through an anonymous on-line questionnaire accessible from November 10th, 2014 to January 31st, 2015. Severity of NVP was measured using the 24-h Pregnancy Unique Quantification of Emesis Scale (PUQE). Associations between severity of NVP, daily life functioning and willingness to become pregnant again were tested using chi-square tests. Associations with global quality of life measured in terms of the Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) were estimated using generalized linear models and reported as unstandardized regression coefficients (β) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results712 women with NVP were included in the study. NVP was significantly associated with several characteristics, including daily life functioning, quality of life and willingness to become pregnant again. The negative impact was greater the more severe the symptoms were, although considerable adverse effects were also seen among women with mild and moderate NVP symptoms. Over one fourth of the women with severe NVP considered terminating the pregnancy due to NVP, and three in four considered not to get pregnant again. Severity of NVP remained significantly associated with reduced global quality of life when adjusting for maternal characteristics and illnesses with β (95% CI) = −10.9 (−16.9, −4.9) for severe versus mild NVP.ConclusionsNVP as measured by PUQE had a major impact on various aspects of the women’s lives, including global quality of life and willingness to become pregnant again.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-017-1249-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundAntibiotic resistance is a global health threat. Public knowledge is considered a prerequisite for appropriate use of antibiotics and limited spread of antibiotic resistance. Our aim was to examine the level of knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance among Norwegian pharmacy customers, and to assess to which degree beliefs, attitudes and sociodemographic factors are associated with this knowledge.MethodsA questionnaire based, cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacy customers in three Norwegian cities. The questionnaire covered 1) knowledge of antibiotics (13 statements) and antibiotic resistance (10 statements), 2) the general beliefs about medicines questionnaire (BMQ general) (three subdomains, four statements each), 3) attitudes toward antibiotic use (four statements), and 4) sociodemographic factors, life style and health. High knowledge level was defined as > 66% of maximum score. Factors associated with knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance were investigated through univariate and multiple linear regression. Hierarchical model regression was used to estimate a population average knowledge score weighted for age, gender and level of education.ResultsAmong 877 participants, 57% had high knowledge of antibiotics in general and 71% had high knowledge of antibiotic resistance. More than 90% knew that bacteria can become resistant against antibiotics and that unnecessary use of antibiotics can make them less effective. Simultaneously, more than 30% erroneously stated that antibiotics are effective against viruses, colds or influenza. Factors positively associated with antibiotic knowledge were health professional background, high education level, and a positive view on the value of medications in general. Male gender, a less restrictive attitude toward antibiotic use, and young age were negatively associated with antibiotic knowledge. The mean overall antibiotic knowledge score was relatively high (15.6 out of maximum 23 with estimated weighted population score at 14.8).ConclusionsDespite a high level of knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance among Norwegian pharmacy customers, there are obvious knowledge gaps. We suggest that action is taken to increase the knowledge level, and particularly target people in vocational, male dominated occupations outside the health service, and primary/secondary school curricula.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-6409-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Use of ginger during pregnancy does not seem to increase the risk of congenital malformations, stillbirth/perinatal death, preterm birth, low birth weight, or low Apgar score. This finding is clinically important for health care professionals giving advice to pregnant women with NPV.