Women's perceptions of medication use during pregnancy and breastfeeding-A Swedish cross-sectional questionnaire study

Introduction Use of medication for different kinds of symptoms and diseases during pregnancy is common. When counseling the pregnant woman, an understanding of her perceptions concerning the use of medication as well as possible associated anxiety and obstacles is important to ensure high adherence to the treatment regimen. Material and methods A questionnaire was developed regarding the use of medication, perceptions on use of medication, as well as perceptions about pregnancy outcomes in association with medication use during pregnancy. In total, 850 pregnant women in gestational weeks 25-29 participated in the study. Results The response rate was 92.7% (n = 832/898). About 19.4% of the respondents (n = 160/824) were frequent users (medication use daily to several times a week) and 28.4% (n = 234/824) were non-frequent users (medication use once a week to once a month). The majority perceived medication use during early pregnancy (61.4%, n = 501/816), late pregnancy (55.6%, n = 455/819) and breastfeeding (57.7%, n = 474/821) as probably harmful or harmful. These findings were more common in non-users (medication used rarely or never) than frequent users (P-value <0.001, <0.001 and 0.007). The pregnant women had great confidence in advice from a physician (83.8%, n = 666/795) or a midwife (77.0%, n = 620/805) concerning medication during pregnancy. Conclusions The majority of pregnant women in Sweden consider the use of medication during pregnancy either 'probably harmful' or 'harmful' and this perception is associated with non-use of medication. The pregnant women in our study had high confidence in healthcare professionals when seeking advice; thus, actively asking about perceptions could lead to better counseling.