Factors associated with medication use in pregnancy (n=9459)*
| Medication use | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For acute/short-term illnesses (n=6469) | For chronic/long-term disorders (n=1604) | OTC (n=6331) | ||||
| n (%) | aOR (95% CI) | n (%) | aOR (95% CI) | n (%) | aOR (95% CI) | |
| Region of residency† | ||||||
| Western Europe | 2224 (69.5) | Reference | 462 (14.4) | Reference | 2163 (67.6) | Reference |
| Northern Europe | 1954 (69.3) | 0.96 (0.86 to 1.08) | 593 (21.0) | 1.68 (1.46 to 1.94) | 2155 (76.4) | 1.54 (1.36 to 1.74) |
| Eastern Europe | 1474 (62.9) | 0.69 (0.61 to 0.78) | 322 (13.7) | 1.03 (0.87 to 1.21) | 1347 (57.5) | 0.60 (0.53 to 0.67) |
| North America | 403 (75.6) | 1.28 (1.03 to 1.60) | 119 (22.3) | 1.80 (1.42 to 2.28) | 342 (64.2) | 0.81 (0.66 to 0.99) |
| South America | 250 (82.3) | 1.03 (0.79 to 1.34) | 38 (11.0) | 0.70 (0.48 to 1.01) | 156 (45.1) | 0.34 (0.27 to 0.44) |
| Australia | 164 (75.6) | 1.29 (0.93 to 1.79) | 70 (32.3) | 2.76 (2.03 to 3.76) | 168 (77.4) | 1.57 (1.12 to 2.20) |
| Maternal age (years) | ||||||
| ≤20 | 232 (70.5) | 1.22 (0.93 to 1.60) | 761 (14.7) | 0.58 (0.39 to 0.87) | 205 (62.3) | 1.05 (0.81 to 1.36) |
| 21–30 | 3531 (68.2) | Reference | 33 (10.0) | Reference | 3461 (66.8) | Reference |
| 31–40 | 2576 (68.6) | 0.90 (0.82 to 1.00) | 764 (20.4) | 1.44 (1.27 to 1.63) | 2531 (67.4) | 0.85 (0.77 to 0.94) |
| ≥41 | 130 (66.3) | 0.73 (0.54 to 1.00) | 46 (23.5) | 1.61 (1.13 to 2.29) | 134 (68.4) | 0.86 (0.62 to 1.19) |
| Previous children | ||||||
| No | 3082 (65.5) | Reference | 735 (15.6) | Reference | 2949 (62.6) | Reference |
| Yes | 3387 (71.3) | 1.34 (1.22 to 1.47) | 869 (18.3) | 1.08 (0.96 to 1.21) | 3382 (71.2) | 1.58 (1.44 to 1.74) |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Married/cohabiting | 6066 (68.5) | Reference | 1503 (17.0) | Reference | 5960 (67.3) | Reference |
| Single/divorced/others | 403 (66.3) | 0.91 (0.75 to 1.10) | 101 (16.6) | 1.06 (0.83 to 1.35) | 371 (61.0) | 0.91 (0.75 to 1.10) |
| Working status | ||||||
| Employed, but not as HCP | 3737 (66.8) | Reference | 905 (16.2) | Reference | 3667 (65.6) | Reference |
| HCP | 934 (74.4) | 1.41 (1.23 to 1.63) | 240 (19.1) | 1.13 (0.96 to 1.33) | 944 (75.2) | 1.42 (1.23 to 1.64) |
| Student | 592 (69.1) | 1.11 (0.94 to 1.31) | 128 (14.9) | 1.04 (0.84 to 1.30) | 578 (67.4) | 1.10 (0.93 to 1.30) |
| Housewife | 608 (72.6) | 1.14 (0.96 to 1.35) | 170 (20.3) | 1.34 (1.10 to 1.63) | 577 (68.9) | 1.05 (0.88 to 1.24) |
| Job seeker | 281 (66.0) | 0.96 (0.78 to 1.20) | 66 (15.5) | 1.03 (0.78 to 1.36) | 258 (60.6) | 0.85 (0.68 to 1.05) |
| Other than above | 311 (65.2) | 0.91 (0.75 to 1.12) | 94 (19.7) | 1.29 (1.01 to 1.65) | 302 (63.3) | 0.91 (0.74 to 1.12) |
| Educational level | ||||||
| Less than high school | 331 (72.7) | 1.17 (0.93 to 1.49) | 92 (20.2) | 1.51 (1.15 to 1.97) | 317 (69.7) | 1.32 (1.04 to 1.67) |
| High school | 1864 (68.7) | Reference | 428 (15.8) | Reference | 1779 (65.6) | Reference |
| More than high school | 3574 (68.4) | 0.99 (0.89 to 1.11) | 916 (17.5) | 1.04 (0.91 to 1.20) | 3489 (66.8) | 1.07 (0.96 to 1.19) |
| Others, unspecified | 700 (65.7) | 0.82 (0.70 to 0.96) | 168 (15.8) | 0.94 (0.77 to 1.16) | 746 (70.0) | 1.13 (0.97 to 1.33) |
| Alcohol use after awareness of pregnancy | ||||||
| No | 5270 (67.1) | Reference | 1322 (16.8) | Reference | 5133 (65.3) | Reference |
| Yes | 1144 (75.7) | 1.59 (1.39 to 1.81) | 270 (17.9) | 1.11 (0.95 to 1.29) | 1150 (76.1) | 1.95 (1.71 to 2.23) |
| Smoking during pregnancy | ||||||
| No | 5835 (68.5) | Reference | 1441 (16.9) | Reference | 5716 (67.0) | Reference |
| Yes, but less than before pregnancy | 530 (69.0) | 1.08 (0.91 to 1.27) | 130 (16.9) | 1.01 (0.82 to 1.25) | 511 (66.5) | 1.06 (0.90 to 1.26) |
| Yes, the same or more than before pregnancy | 88 (67.7) | 0.95 (0.64 to 1.40) | 28 (21.5) | 1.19 (0.74 to 1.90) | 89 (68.5) | 1.21 (0.81 to 1.82) |
| Planned pregnancy | ||||||
| Yes | 5836 (68.4) | Reference | 1427 (16.7) | Reference | 5727 (67.2) | Reference |
| No | 616 (68.4) | 0.96 (0.82 to 1.12) | 173 (19.2) | 1.29 (1.06 to 1.56) | 587 (65.1) | 1.00 (0.85 to 1.17) |
| First language different from the official main language in the country of residency | ||||||
| No | 6089 (68.5) | Reference | 1530 (17.2) | Reference | 5972 (67.1) | Reference |
| Yes | 363 (67.2) | 0.93 (0.76 to 1.12) | 71 (13.1) | 0.66 (0.50 to 0.86) | 347 (64.3) | 0.89 (0.74 to 1.08) |
*Numbers may not add up due to missing values. Missing values are less than 5% of the total. Mineral supplements, vitamins, iron, herbal or complementary medicine products are not included in the medication use estimates.
†Countries are grouped into regions as shown in figure 1.
Statistically significant results (ie, p values <0.05) are presented in italics.
aOR, adjusted OR; HCP, healthcare provider; OTC, over-the-counter medications.