Dynamics of Self-Medication Among Expectant Mothers in a City in Southeast Nigeria

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the practice, risk perception and correlates of self-medication among the pregnant women residing at Awka Nigeria.

METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted across the Awka city using the following locations: one hospital’s antenatal clinic, a town hall and a church hall for data collection. The data was collected when pregnant women gathered on the selected days at these locations. On each site, data was collected with a set of pretested, interviewer-administered, structured questionnaire. Following the returning of the questionnaires, data was analyzed with frequency and correlation. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05

RESULTS: Self-medication practice was very high during pregnancy, most of the women (69.7%) admitted to having self-medicated during pregnancy. Overall, (61.9%) perceived self-medication in pregnancy as a good practice with little or no associated risks. A significant percentage (31.5%) of them reasoned that self-medication in pregnancy could be risky only to women who become pregnant for the first time (primigravida). Similarly, more than half of the participants opined that herbal remedies are very safe in pregnancy and hardly cause harm to the fetus or the mother. The majority (70.7%) admitted that self-medication in pregnancy saves time and money, and should be promoted. Among the participants that admitted practicing self-medication in pregnancy, the medications reported to be commonly used include antibiotics (30.7%), antimalarials (83.6%), herbal remedies (21.8%), anti-emetics (61.1%), antipyretics and analgesics (90.2%), vitamins & minerals (95.5%), cold & allergy remedies (56.0%). The major correlates for the practice of self-medication in pregnancy were pregnancy number (p= 0.018), educational qualification (p= 0.009), and occupation of the respondents (p= 0.007)

CONCLUSIONS: Self-medication practice among pregnant women was high, with a low level of risk perception.