A study to assess awareness amongst pregnant women about the effects of drugs on the fetus and self-medication

Abstract

Background: The present study was conducted with an objective to assess the awareness of drug use in pregnancy, to assess the knowledge of pregnant women on effect of drugs on foetus and to assess the self-medication among pregnant women.Methods: This was a prospective, observational, cross-sectional study conducted on randomly selected 200 pregnant women attending a tertiary care hospital in Surat, Gujarat, India. Data was collected by means of a pre-designed semi-structured questionnaire composed of 26 questions on self-medication during pregnancy and knowledge about that. The data was collected by interview technique in which each participant was asked questions in the language of her understanding in a separate room.Results: The average age of the participants was 23.7±3.68 years. About 91% were not aware about the effect of medication on the health of foetus and did not even enquire about it. At the time of survey, 74% pregnant women were on some kind of medication. More than 80% were not aware about the duration of medication. About 51% were taking medication on regular basis. The proportion of self-medication among pregnant women was 8.5% (includes 5.5% by themselves and 3% by advice of chemists).Conclusions: There is a lack of awareness amongst the pregnant women regarding the effect of the drugs on the health of foetus. More than half of the women take medication on regular basis. However, low proportion of self-medication during pregnancy suggests that during pregnancy women preferred to take advise of physician for medication rather than taking self-medication.

<p>Self-Medication and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Kemisie General Hospital, North East Ethiopia</p>

“…22 A systematic review and meta-analysis also reported a high prevalence of self-medication. 23,24 This was due to poor awareness of pregnant women regarding medicines, 17,25 selling of prescription medications without prescription and loose regulatory system. 26 The prevalence of herbal medicine use was 111 (49.8%; 95% CI: 43%-58%).…”

“…4,[9][10][11][12] Self-medication is an essential part of daily self-care and is affected by various factors such as income, local culture, age, gender, education level, knowledge, access to medicines, time, perception of risk of self-medication, previous medication use, gestational age, and occupation. [6][7][8]13,14 Use of self-medication by pregnant women with medicine and/or herb can disturb the development of the embryo or fetus and may cause serious structural and functional adverse effects, including low birth weight, premature birth, feeding problems, respiratory problems, malformations, developmental fetal toxicity, and other potential harm to the fetus 4,11,[15][16][17] and mother. 4,14,18 In addition, the increased practice of self-medication will exacerbates the danger of drug interaction and adverse event and results in irrational use of drugs.…”

“…5 Thus, it is appropriate to evaluate and know the drugs that are consumed during pregnancy. 17 This study was conducted to determine the pattern of self-medication and contributing factors among pregnant women attending the antenatal care (ANC) clinic of Kemisie General Hospital.…”

Self-Medication Practice and Associated Factors Among Health Care Professionals at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

“…9 Thus, evaluating and knowing the magnitude and drugs that are consumed is crucial. 20 This study assessed self-medication practices and associated factors among health care professionals at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital.…”

The awareness of pregnant patient about effect of antibiotics in pregnancy

“…[20] A previous study demonstrated that 91% of pregnant women had no awareness about the effect of medication in the heath of the fetus. [24] Several trials were made to identify the pregnant women sociodemographic characteristics that are correlated with attitudes and beliefs regarding medications. [16252627] Socioeconomic level and education were reported.…”