Abstract
Background: Despite the potential foetal and maternal risks of self-medication, studies on self-medication and safety profile of medicines used during pregnancy are scarce. This study determined the prevalence, predictors and safety profile of medicines used for self-medication during pregnancy at Jimma University Medical Centre (JUMC) in Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based cross sectional study was conducted on 1117 hospitalized pregnant women or postpartum women in the maternity and gynaecology wards at JUMC between February and June 2017. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and by reviewing patient medical records. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Result: Nearly 3 out of 10 women reported taking at least one type of conventional medicine for self-medication, mainly analgesics 92.3%. Almost 75.0% of the self-medicated women used medicines classified as probably safe and 13.6% as potentially risky to use during pregnancy. Medicinal plant use, religion and access to a health facility near their residency were significantly associated with self-medication during pregnancy. Conclusions: Self-medication is common among pregnant women at JUMC. Most women used medicines classified as safe to use during pregnancy. There is need for enlightenment of pregnant women on the potential dangers of self-medication during pregnancy to prevent foetal and maternal risks.
Highlights
Pregnancy is a dynamic process in which many maternal physical, physiological, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic transformations occur from fertilization to parturition [1,2,3]
Since we did not find any study that assessed self-medication experience and safety profiles of medicines used among hospitalized pregnant women, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of self-medication practice and its determinants among pregnant women at Jimma University Medical Centre (JUMC)
This study found that over a quarter (27.0%) of mothers self-medicated with at least one type of conventional medicine, mostly analgesics (92.7%), at some stage of the current pregnancy
Summary
Pregnancy is a dynamic process in which many maternal physical, physiological, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic transformations occur from fertilization to parturition [1,2,3]. In most developing countries like Ethiopia are health care facilities inaccessible or unaffordable [2,4,6], and medicines are poorly regulated and available outside formal and authorized institutions [7]. For this reason, many pregnant women prefer to self-medicate first as an accessible and lower cost alternative and only seek professional health services when the situation worsens [4,8]. There is need for enlightenment of pregnant women on the potential dangers of self-medication during pregnancy to prevent foetal and maternal risks
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