Dataset Information

Self-medication practices among pregnant women in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT:

Background

Self-medication is a worldwide issue that requires special attention due to the potentially harmful effects it can have not only on pregnant women but also on the fetus.

Objectives

This study assessed the magnitude of self-medication practice and associated factors among pregnant women following antenatal care (ANC) in primary healthcare settings in the North Wollo Zone of Ethiopia.

Methods

An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 395 pregnant mothers who attended ANC follow-up in selected health centers in the North Wollo Zone of Ethiopia from April 20 to May 20, 2021. A multi-stage sampling method was employed to enroll participants. A face-to-face structured interview was conducted to collect the data. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with self-medication practice. A p value < 0.05 at the 95% confidence level was considered statistically significant.

Results

Out of a total of 444 participants approached, 395 (89%) participated in the study. Of these, 44.6% reported practicing self-medication during the current pregnancy. Age < 35 (AOR = 2.18, 95% CI 1.02–9.15; p = 0.032), rural residence (AOR = 3.01, 95% CI 1.43–10.19; p = 0.017), and previous medication use (AOR = 5.02, 95% CI 1.24–12.93; p = 0.015) were found to have a significant association with self-medication practice.

Conclusion

Self-medication was highly prevalent among pregnant women in the study setting and result indicates need for critical action. Younger rural women with a history of self-medication use should be provided counselling to find a prescription medication, and measures are needed to minimize self-medication related harm in pregnant women.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40545-023-00584-7.

SUBMITTER: Girmaw F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10278325 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe practice of self-medication during pregnancy is a global challenge that necessitates high attention as it poses a potential threat to the pregnant mother and fetus. However, little is known regarding self-medication practice and its contributors among pregnant women in our setting.ObjectiveThe main aim of this study was to investigate the practice of self-medication and its contributing factors among pregnant women.MethodologyA cross sectional study was conducted among pregnant women at antenatal care follow-up of Ayder comprehensive specialized hospital, Tigray, Ethiopia. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant before interview. Simple random sampling technique was employed to recruit participants in to the study. Data were collected by interviewing participants using the structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regressions analysis was performed to determine the contributing factors of self-medication practice during pregnancy. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant.ResultsA total of 250 pregnant women were included in the study. Of the total, 40.8% practiced self-medication during the current pregnancy. Morning sickness (39.2%), headache (34.3%), and upper respiratory tract infections (29.4%) were the leading indications for self-medication. According to participant report, ease of access to medicines (25.5%), feelings that the disease is minor (21.6%) and timesaving (19.6%) were the most commonly reported reasons for self-medication practice. Absence of health insurance (AOR: 2.75, 95%CI: 1.29-5.89) and being on first trimester of pregnancy (AOR: 2.44, 95%CI: 1.02-5.86) were significant contributors of self-medication practice among pregnant women.ConclusionIn our study, high prevalence of self-medication was reported among pregnant women. Self-medication practice during pregnancy was higher among pregnant women on first trimester and those who were not having health insurance. Therefore, intervention programs should be designed to minimize the practice of self-medication during pregnancy.

Project description:IntroductionAppropriate dietary practices in pregnancy are critical to meet the increased metabolic and physiological demands; however, information about dietary practices among pregnant women, particularly rural residents, is limited. The study aimed to assess the level of appropriate dietary practices and associated determinants among pregnant women in Haramaya District, eastern Ethiopia, 2021.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 448 pregnant women in Haramaya District, Eastern Ethiopia. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews by trained research assistants, using a validated frequency questionnaire. The pregnant women were labeled as "appropriate dietary practice" when they consumed at least four meals daily, had a good food variety score, high dietary diversity score, and high consumption of animal source foods during the reference period. Otherwise, they were defined as "inappropriate." A Poisson regression model with robust variance estimation was used to investigate the association of the independent variables with the dietary practice. An adjusted prevalence ratio with a 95% confidence interval was reported to show an association using a p-value < 0.05.ResultsThe appropriate dietary practice among the study participants was 15.2% (95% CI = 12-18%). Of the respondents, 29.46, 37.5, and 24.7% had a high dietary diversity, high food variety score, and high consumption of animal source foods. The appropriate dietary practice was more prevalent among merchant women (APR = 2.07; 95% CI 1.07-4.02) and those whose husbands have at least a high school educational level (APR = 1.96; 95% CI 1.06-3.46). However, the prevalence of appropriate dietary practice was significantly lower among those who chewed khat (APR = 0.58; 95% CI 0.37-0.90) and among respondents who reported restriction of the intake of some foods (APR = 0.36; 95% CI 0.20-0.65).ConclusionWe found sup-optimal appropriate dietary practice among pregnant women in this predominantly rural setting. Additionally, the lower appropriate dietary practice was observed among women who reported chewing khat and experienced restriction of dietary consumption during pregnancy. Therefore, nutrition policy programs and interventions aimed at encouraging maternal nutritional guidance and counseling are recommended.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The optimal dietary practice is a critical requisite for maternal nutrition. However, the majority of Ethiopian pregnant women have inadequate nutrient intakes. These may be due to their poor dietary habits. Identifying factors affecting the dietary practices of pregnant women is crucial to design appropriate interventions. In this country, the dietary practices of pregnant women and determinants are not well studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the dietary practices and associated factors among pregnant women in West Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS:A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 712 pregnant women from May to August 2018. Quantitative data complemented with a qualitative method. Pregnant women were selected using a cluster sampling technique. Structured questionnaires were utilized for data collection. Data were entered into Epi-Info version 7.2.2 and exported to SPSS version 23 software for analysis. Data were described using frequencies and mean. A logistic regression analysis was done. Three focus group discussions and 17 key-informant interviews were conducted for the qualitative data. Focus group discussion participants were mothers, husbands, and health professionals. Typical case and homogeneous sampling techniques were used for the key-informant interviews and focus group discussions, respectively. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. RESULTS:Only 19.9% of respondents had appropriate dietary practices. On the multivariable logistic regression analyses, being food secure [AOR = 2.25, 95% CI: (1.1, 4.5)], having high edible crop production [AOR = 2.00, 95% CI: (1.2, 3.2)] and a favorable attitude [AOR = 1.69, 95% CI: (1.1, 2.6)] were significantly associated with the appropriate dietary practices of pregnant women. In the qualitative study, lack of knowledge on maternal diet, cultural prohibition, and knowledge gap of the professionals were barriers that interfere with dietary practices during pregnancy. CONCLUSION:Pregnant women in the study area are found to have suboptimal dietary practices. Therefore, health professionals should give regular nutrition counseling using cards and role models for promoting diversified food production and consumption.

Project description:BACKGROUND:In Ethiopia, although nutrition education has been given during pregnancy, most women have inadequate nutrient intakes. As a result, the prevalence of malnutrition is high during pregnancy. In this study, we set out to evaluate the effect of guided counseling based on the health belief model and the theory of planned behavior on the dietary practices of pregnant women. METHODS:A two-arm parallel cluster randomized controlled community trial was carried out among pregnant women in West, Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia from May 1, 2018, to April 30, 2019. A total of 346 and 348 pregnant women were recruited from the intervention and control clusters, respectively. Of which endline data were collected from 313 and 332 pregnant women in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Each woman in the intervention group attended four counseling sessions. Women in the control group attended the routine nutrition education given by the health care system. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. McNemar test and Generalized Estimating Equations were used to evaluate the intervention effect. RESULTS:The average difference of appropriate dietary practice between the two groups was 30.7%. After controlling for the possible confounders, women in the intervention group had 7.2 times [AOR = 7.187, 95% CI: (4.49, 11.49)] higher odds of having appropriate dietary practices compared with the control group. Dietary diversity and meal frequency of counseled women were 7 [AOR = 6.994, 95% CI: (4.59, 10.66)] and 8 [AOR = 8.146, 95% CI: (5.377, 12.341)] times higher than dietary diversity and meal frequency of women in the control group, respectively. CONCLUSION:Counseling based on the health belief model and the theory of planned behavior is an effective approach in increasing the proportion of women who had appropriate dietary practices. Thus, these findings suggest the need for employing trimester based counseling using the HBM and the TPB to improve the dietary practices of pregnant women. TRIAL REGISTRATION:The trial was registered in Clinical Trials.gov (NCT03627156).

Project description:IntroductionPracticing self-medication using conventional and/or herbal drugs during pregnancy could contribute/result in illness and death for the mother and embryo. The focus of the current study was to investigate the level of practice and factors affecting self-medication with conventional and herbal drugs among pregnant women who were on follow-up at the antenatal care (ANC) clinic of Mizan-Tepi University teaching hospital (MTUTH), Southwest Ethiopia.MethodologyA cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1st to February 30th, 2022, among 264 pregnant mothers who were on follow-up at antenatal care of MTUTH. A lottery method was used to pick study subjects who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data which was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 24 software. Bivariate followed by multivariate logistic regression was employed to point out factors affecting self-medication practice with conventional and herbal drugs. P-value <0.05 in multivariate analysis was used as a cut-off point to decide statistical significance.ResultsIt was revealed that 44.3 percent and 49.2 percent of pregnant women self-medicate with conventional and herbal medications, respectively. Women with no history of self-medication were 6.69 folds less likely to practice self-medication using conventional medicine than those with prior experience (AOR: 6.69, 95% CI, (3.847-11.659). Having no health insurance increased the odds of self-medication using conventional medicine by about 46% among pregnant women (AOR: 0.687, 95% CI, (0.373-1.264). Pregnant mothers who joined college/university education were more likely to practice self-medication than mothers without formal education (AOR: 0.656, 95% CI, (0.304-1.414). Gravidity, education level, and history of herbal medicine use were factors that influenced pregnant mothers' use of herbal medicines.ConclusionAccording to the present investigation, self-medication by expectant mothers is very common; thus, education and guidance of pregnant women and their partners should be considered during their ANC follow-up to minimize self-medication-associated potential threats.