Self-Reported Medication Use among Pregnant and Postpartum Women during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

• Main Authors: Baud, D. (Author), Ceulemans, M. (Author), Favre, G. (Author), Gerbier, E. (Author), Meyer-Massetti, C. (Author), Nordeng, H. (Author), Oliver, A. (Author), Panchaud, A. (Author), Passier, A. (Author), Pomar, L. (Author), Stojanov, M. (Author), Tauqeer, F. (Author), Winterfeld, U. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2022
• Subjects: chronic disease; COVID-19; drug utilization; Europe; medication use; pandemic; pharmacoepidemiology; postpartum; pregnancy; self-medication
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Information on medication utilization among pregnant and postpartum women during the pandemic is lacking. We described the prevalence and patterns of self-reported medication use among pregnant and postpartum women during the third wave of the pandemic (June–August 2021). An online questionnaire was distributed in five European countries between June–August 2021. Pregnant women or women who had delivered in the three preceding months, and ≥18 years old, could participate. The prevalence of overall medication use, self-medication, and changes in chronic medication use were determined. A total of 2158 women out of 5210 participants (41.4%) used at least one medication. Analgesics (paracetamol), systemic antihistamines (cetirizine), and drugs for gastric disorders (omeprazole) were the three most used classes. Anti-infectives were less prevalent than during pre-pandemic times. Antidepressants and anxiety related medication use re-mained similar, despite a higher prevalence of these symptoms. Self-medication was reported in 19.4% of women, and 4.1% of chronic medication users reported that they changed a chronic medication on personal initiative due to the pandemic. In conclusion, medication use patterns in our cohort were mostly similar to those of the first COVID-19 wave and the pre-pandemic period. More studies are needed to explore factors associated with self-medication and changes in chronic medication use due to the pandemic in this perinatal population. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.