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Study shows that pregnant women prefer not to take medication that may ease common problems faced during pregnancy
Posted on: 11/Jun/2016 9:59:37 AM
A recent U. K. study has said that pregnant women are often steering clear of drugs that might ease problems like nausea and urinary tract infections even though the treatments may be safe. The study was published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, online May 30, and was conducted by researchers at the University of East Anglia.
1120 women were surveyed and asked about common problems they experienced during pregnancy. They were also asked if they though medications to treat these indues were beneficial or harmful. Results showed that about 76 percent were taking medication of at least one of eight common conditions during pregnancy. These include nausea, heartburn, constipation, colds, urinary tract infections, neck or pelvic pain, headaches and sleeping problems. However, many women did not take medication for some problems. This was the case even when drugs might not be harmful or foregoing the treatment may be dangerous.
Say the researchers, Many women avoid medications as they fear harming the child. We don’t want women to avoid medication and suffer unnecessarily from conditions that can be treated relatively easily. Non-prescription anti-nausea drugs offer an example of how women may needlessly suffer and potentially allow small problems to escalate into bigger ones by avoiding treatment. Nausea and vomiting can be very devastating for women, and it is very important that women do not become dehydrated or unhealthy as a result of pregnancy sickness.
A pharmacy researcher who was not associated with the study said, Some untreated conditions such as urinary tract infections mentioned in the article, but also chronic conditions including depression, may cause severe complications, endangering the health of the mother and her unborn child. One problem, of course, is that drug trials exclude pregnant women for ethical reasons, limiting how much we know about whether many treatments are truly safe during pregnancy. Safety can also vary by trimester, and the benefits and harms of treatment may depend on the severity of women`s symptoms and other aspects of their pregnancy or medical history.
The authors of the study say, One limitation of an online study is that the subset of women who choose to participate may not reflect the broader population. (We) also lacked participants’ medical records or data on their drug use during pregnancy to assess how the severity of certain conditions might have influenced the women’s opinions about medication. Women should ask a health professional when they have questions about drugs during pregnancy. The consequences of not discussing appropriate use of medicines during pregnancy can be serious.
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