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. 2023 Jan-Dec:19:17455057231199394.
doi: 10.1177/17455057231199394.

The use, perceptions and knowledge of safety of over-the-counter medications during pregnancy in a Canadian population

E Casey  1 , M P Velez  2 , L Gaudet  2 , S B Brogly  3
Affiliations

The use, perceptions and knowledge of safety of over-the-counter medications during pregnancy in a Canadian population

E Casey et al. Womens Health (Lond). 2023 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of prenatal over-the-counter medication use in Canadian women is unknown.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of prenatal over-the-counter medication use and safety knowledge was conducted among pregnant and post-partum women attending an academic hospital obstetrics clinic.

Results: Seventy-two women participated; 90.3% were Caucasian, 69.4% had a college/university degree, and 61.1% lived in an urban area. Of the 72 women, 87.5% used over-the-counter medications prenatally, first (55.6%), second (65.3%), and third (47.2%) trimesters, with prenatal acetaminophen use most common (72.2%). Women who used over-the-counter medications 1-0onths before conception were more likely to use over-the-counter medications during pregnancy, and 18% of women initiated over-the-counter medications in pregnancy. Women self-reported a medium level of over-the-counter medication safety knowledge (73.6%) and responded that not all over-the-counter medications are safe during pregnancy (95.8%).

Conclusion: Despite limited safety profiles of some over-the-counter medications, pre-conception and prenatal over-the-counter medication use was high. Further research on the risk of over-the-counter medications and combinations in pregnancy is needed to help women to make safe choices during pregnancy.

Keywords: over-the-counter medications; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: E.C. assisted with study design, was responsible for data collection and study conduct, conducted statistical analysis, and had a lead role in writing the manuscript. S.B.B. supervised the study, assisted with study design, conducted statistical analyses, and contributed to the manuscript writing. M.V. and L.G. assisted with study design and interpretation of results, and contributed to the manuscript writing. The authors report no conflict of interest.

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