PIH29 SELF- MEDICATION: ASSESSMENT OF PRACTICES AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN

Abstract

Pregnancy being a physiologic condition where medication usage is of a special concern, this study was aimed to assess the practices of self-medication and factors influencing the same among pregnant women in an urban community in India. A group of 260 randomly selected pregnant women from an urban population were interviewed using a pre-validated questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and chi-square statistics. In our study prevalence rate of self-medication during pregnancy was found to be 8.46%. 6.5% used home remedies during pregnancy. The subjects who were educated relied on their formal educational knowledge, as well as checked expiry date and read the label before consuming drugs (P value: 0.025, 0.000, 0.000). The time taken to get self-medication was lesser compared to visiting hospitals (P value: 0.01). The common source of self-medication practiced was through the advice of acquaintances (P value: 0.013). Considering illness as minor, better trust on ancient ayurvedic practices, quick relief and availability of medicines were the major reasons to rely on self-medications. In developing countries like India most of the health concerns are self-treated due to easy availability of drugs, hence safe and responsible practice of self- medication in pregnant women needs to be cautiously dealt with. Even though prevalence of self- medication practices during pregnancy was low in this study, it is the responsibility of healthcare professionals to control and be able to help the pregnant women undertake appropriate self-medication and to create awareness about harmful effects of self-prescribing during pregnancy.