Use of medications among pregnant women in a city in the southern region of the Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

This cross-sectional study identified, through home interviews, the pharmacotherapeutic profile of pregnant women attended at the Unified Health System (SUS) during the prenatal care. The drugs were classified according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pregnancy risk categories. From the 104 respondents, 94.2% reported to use at least one drug during pregnancy, and were identified 53 different drugs, totalizing 316. The frequency of drugs from category A (n = 115, 36.4%) was closely related to B (n = 121, 38.3%) and 3 times higher than C (n = 36, 11.4%) and 4 than D (n = 29, 9.2%). 22.1% (CI(95%) 14.4 – 29.8) of the respondents used drugs from category D and 1.9% from X. There was a significant association between gestational age and drug use, so that 61.7% of the drugs were consumed in the third trimester of gestation, and 56.7% of the respondents consumed drugs at this period. The most commonly consumed therapeutic classes were vitamins/supplements/antianemics (35.33% from the 316; consumed by 72.97% of the interviewed), painkillers (14.6%; 44%), and antimicrobials (10.1%; 19.2%). The most frequently consumed drugs were folic acid (17.72% CI(95%) 13.67 - 22.39), ferrous sulfate (15.82% CI(95%) 11.98 - 20.32%), and paracetamol (12.97% CI(95%) 9.47 - 17.19). From the 104 respondents, 22% related smoking before pregnancy and 12.5% did not interrupt the habit during pregnancy, whereas 21 pregnant women related alcohol consumption before pregnancy and, 4 them, did interrupt the consumption during the gestational period. Therefore, this study reported a great number of
prescribed drugs to pregnant women, from all FDA pregnancy risk categories, including an outstanding use of drugs with a high teratogenic potential (D and X categories), and a considerable proportion of pregnant women using more
than one drug. The control and supervision during the use of drugs at the prenatal care must be taken into account, since the use of certain drugs during gestational period may lead to teratogenic damage and/or complications that
cause abort and impair the pregnant woman’s health.