Abstract
Background: Pain is a common compensation mechanism in pregnant women that they may face during gestation due to physiological changes. Paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the most administered analgesic drugs worldwide. Therefore, safety and efficacy are important measures for the use of analgesics during pregnancy. Objective: Assess the knowledge of analgesic drug utilization among Saudi pregnant women. Method: We conducted a self-administered survey with an electronic questionnaire via Google Drive among a sample of 406 Saudi women. Results: About half of the respondents took analgesics during the first trimester, and 52.5% of women have used analgesics at least once without any medical advice during their gestation. Most participants agreed that paracetamol is the safest and effective analgesic drug during pregnancy, yet 61.8% of women are not aware that analgesics could be detrimental to the fetus if inappropriately administered in the third trimester. Conclusion: Participants have a good perception of the safest and most effective analgesic drug during pregnancy, but they have poor knowledge about analgesics’ side effects.
Highlights
For selecting drugs based on their safety profile for pregnant women, healthcare decisions previously relied on pregnancy letter categorization (A, B, C, D, and X), yet this categorization does not represent the degrees of fetal risk and is not accurate, and confusing [4,5]
The FDA released a notification concerning safety labeling for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in which they can cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus, causing fetal renal dysfunction leading to oligohydramnios, in some cases, and neonatal renal impairment [4]
Taken together with these risks, the FDA suggests lower doses and duration of NSAIDs usage between 20 to 30 weeks of gestation and withdrawing their utilization from 30 weeks of gestation and later in pregnancy to prevent the possibility of developing oligohydramnios and premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus [4]
Summary
A major reason accounting for their widespread use is their accessibility in the community setting; most analgesics are sold over the counter, and no prescription is required [1,2] Examples of these accessible analgesics are paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen, indomethacin, and aspirin. The FDA released a notification concerning safety labeling for NSAIDs in which they can cause premature closure of the fetal ductus arteriosus, causing fetal renal dysfunction leading to oligohydramnios, in some cases, and neonatal renal impairment [4]. Method: We conducted a self-administered survey with an electronic questionnaire via Google Drive among a sample of 406 Saudi women
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