What consumers want to know about medicines in their pregnancy

Pijpers, E. (Eva) (2015) What consumers want to know about medicines in their pregnancy. thesis, Medicine.

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Abstract

Introduction: Medication use during pregnancy is common, although the safety of medications during pregnancy is not established for many drugs. Women report a high level of needed information. Teratogenic risk is often overestimated and drug adherence during pregnancy is quite poor. Therefore, it is important to analyse these information needs. Methods: A retrospective, mixed method analysis was conducted on the pregnancy-related calls to Australia’s National Prescribing Services Medicines Line, between September 2002 and June 2010. Quantitative analysis was performed for demographics and specific drug-related data. This was compared with non-pregnancy related questions and in relation to Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) categorisation of prescribing drugs in pregnancy (pregnancy-related calls n = 4,573; non-pregnancy related calls n = 118,547).It was also used to compare questions between different stages in pregnancy (n = 1,166). Thematic analysis was conducted on narratives to explore stage-specific themes. Results: Pregnancy-related enquiries were prompted more often by conflicting information, inadequate information or request for second opinion. Most questions concerned safety. After antidepressants, over the counter (OTC) medications (paracetamol, dexchlorpheniramine, codeine) were of most concern. Medication classified as safe during pregnancy, TGA category A, accounted for 34% of the questions. Safe treatment for everyday conditions was of increasing concern as the pregnancy progressed. Conclusion: Analysis of real world, pregnancy-related questions demonstrates that women are concerned about the safety of drug use in pregnancy and are likely to overestimate risk. Psychotropic medication and fertility are strong drivers to seek information in preconception. Everyday illnesses and self-medication with OTC medication are a common concern throughout pregnancy, even though many drugs are assessed as ‘safe’ to use.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Facultair begeleider: and Berger, Prof. Dr. M.Y. Hoogleraar en Hoofd afdeling Huisarts
Supervisor name:	Driel, Prof. Dr. M. Van and Deputy Head School of Medicine & Head Discipline of General and Kreijkamp-Kaspers, Dr. S. Discipline of General Practice
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 10:52
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 10:52
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1318

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