Drug utilization pattern during pregnancy in North India.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is a special physiological condition, where drug treatment presents a special concern. AIMS: To evaluate the drug utilization pattern during pregnancy and to evaluate the effect of the educational and economic status on it.. DESIGN: The retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING: The postgraduate Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics of a medical college. and the antenatal clinic of the institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical students filled 405 questionnaires after interviewing pregnant women (243 primigravida and 152 multigravida). All the collected questionnaires were analysed for various study parameters. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Inter-group comparison was done using chi-square test. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 700, 1086 and 686 drugs, with an average of 1.73, 2.89 and 2.49 drugs per pregnant women, were used during first, second and third trimester of pregnancy, respectively. A majority of the drugs used, were from category-A, followed by category-B and category-D. However, category C and X drugs constituted 2.90 (20) and 5.71% (40) of drugs used during the third trimester and first trimester, respectively. Herbal/homeopathic drugs constituted 6.42 (45), 3.68 (40) and 1.46% (10) of the drugs used in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy, respectively (P=649). 33.33% (135) women believed that drug use during pregnancy is dangerous to both mother and child and 37.03% (150) believed that drugs are dangerous throughout pregnancy. 55.55% (225) females advocated the use of iron/folic acid during pregnancy. 24.69% (100) of women had knowledge about barrier contraceptives. Self-medication and homeopathic/ herbal drugs use was found more in graduates than in undergraduates; as well as, it was more in the higher socioeconomic group than the lower socioeconomic group. CONCLUSION: There is a need to educate and counsel women of child-bearing age, regarding the advantages and disadvantages of drug use during pregnancies, with special reference to alternative therapies and self-medication.