Widespread Use of Medications Among Pregnant Women, Researchers Report

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Widespread Use of Medications Among Pregnant Women, Researchers Report/*

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110425120336.htm

ScienceDaily (Apr. 25, 2011) --- Researchers from Boston University's

Slone Epidemiology Center, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) and Harvard School of Public Health, have

reported widespread and increasing medication use among pregnant women.

The study, which currently appears online in the American Journal of

Obstetrics and Gynecology, also found that medication use varied by

socioeconomic status, maternal age, race/ethnicity and state of residence.

Although a number of antenatal medication exposures are known to cause

birth defects, there is insufficient information on the risks and safety

for the vast majority of medications, whether they are obtained by

prescription or over-the-counter (OTC). As a result, pregnant women may

unknowingly take a medication that poses risk to their fetus; on the

other hand, anxiety about the potential harmful effects to the fetus may

discourage women from adhering to beneficial treatments.

The findings came from data collected by the Slone Epidemiology Center's

Birth Defects Study (1976-2008) and the CDC's National Birth Defects

Prevention Study (1997-2003), which together interviewed more than

30,000 women about their medication use during pregnancy. The results

included information not only on use of prescription drugs but also OTC

medications, which are more commonly used and are not typically recorded

in electronic medical/insurance records.

The following is an outline of the study's findings:

1. During the first trimester of pregnancy

* 70-80 percent of women reported taking at least one

medication; and

* By 2008, about 50 percent of women reported taking at least

one prescription medication.

2. Over the last 30 years

* First trimester use of prescription medications increased by

more than 60 percent;

* Use of 4 or more medications during the first trimester

tripled; and

* Antidepressant use during the first trimester increased

dramatically.

3. In addition, this study reported that

* Medication use increased with a woman's age and education level;

* Use was higher among non-Hispanic white women compared with

women of other races or ethnicities that were studied; and

* Use during pregnancy varied by state of residence.

According to the researchers, defining research priorities requires an

understanding of patterns and factors associated with actual use of the

wide range of specific medications that are taken during pregnancy and

particularly during the first trimester, when concerns about development

of birth defects are greatest. " These data identify prescription

medications that are currently most commonly used and therefore urgently

require research on their risks and safety; they also reinforce the need

for ongoing surveillance regarding medication use in pregnancy and its

consequences, " said lead author A. , MD, director of BU's

Slone Epidemiology Center. " Not only is it critical to identify how many

OTC and prescription medications are taken by pregnant women and what

those specific medications are, but it is also important to know how use

of medications changes over time, " he added.

This study was supported in part by a ative Agreement with the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Massachusetts

Department of Public Health, cooperative agreements from the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention to the centers participating in the

National Birth Defects Prevention Study, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

A. , Suzanne M. Gilboa, Martha M. Werler, E.

Kelley, Carol Louik, Hernández-Díaz. *

Medication use during pregnancy, with particular focus on prescription

drugs: 1976-2008*. /

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology/, 2011;

DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2011.02.029

<http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2011.02.029>

Medication use during pregnancy, with particular focus on prescription

drugs: 1976-2008. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21514558>

AA, Gilboa SM, Werler MM, Kelley KE, Louik C, Hernández-Díaz S;

National Birth Defects Prevention Study.

Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Apr 21. [Epub ahead of print]