ABSTRACT
The validity of a questionnaire on medical drug use during pregnancy was tested against information collected 7 years previously (in 1983-1984) at the University Hospital of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The study population consisted of women with high-risk pregnancies. The sensitivity for drug categories varied between 0% and 80%. The sensitivity was highest for drugs used during labor (77%) and was extremely low (0%) for some drug categories. Personal characteristics thought to influence the sensitivity, such as parity of the mother and method of data collection (postal questionnaire or personal interview), showed no statistically significant effect. The newly developed questionnaire needs further improvement.
Subject(s)
Drug Therapy/statistics & numerical data , Pregnancy/statistics & numerical data , Surveys and Questionnaires/standards , Data Collection/methods , Data Collection/standards , Female , Hospitals, University , Humans , Memory , Netherlands , Prospective Studies , Reproducibility of Results , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
The use of medication during low-risk pregnancy was studied prospectively in a cohort of women supervised by specialist obstetricians at a university hospital (n = 332) and a cohort of women supervised by midwives in private practice (n = 250). More women under supervision of obstetricians/gynaecologists used medication (87.7%) than women supervised by midwives (59.8%). The top-five of medication were analgesics, antacids, vitamins, antibiotics and dermatologic preparations. More research is needed to establish the risks of these medications to the offspring.
Subject(s)
Fetus/drug effects , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , RiskABSTRACT
The obstetrical policy during labor at two University clinics in Nottingham (United Kingdom) and Nijmegen (The Netherlands) was investigated prospectively and simultaneously during a period of three months (1984). At the University of Nijmegen the obstetrical population tended to be more 'pathologic', and less intervention during labor was observed for early amniotomy, pain relief, induction and augmentation of labor. The pH in umbilical arterial blood was as a mean 0.01 unit lower in Nijmegen than in Nottingham. The validity of electronic fetal monitoring appeared to be higher in Nijmegen. It is concluded that data on the neonate probably cannot give an answer in favor of one of these policies. Parenthood information could give more conclusive evidence.
