Patient utilization of information sources about safety of medications during pregnancy

To examine information sources about the safety of medications during pregnancy among predominantly Latina pregnant women.

Consecutively chosen pregnant women (n = 404) attending the University of New Mexico clinics were offered participation and interviewed by a bilingual interviewer.

Patient-initiated questions about the safety of medications in pregnancy were addressed most frequently to prenatal care providers (62.1%) and family members (25.2%). The Internet, books and clinic pamphlets/brochures were the most frequent self-identified sources of information. Among the 181 women with medical conditions (44.8%), education, marital status and parity were important predictors of information-seeking behavior. Specifically, women with higher education were 3.0 times (95% CI 1.2-7.5) more likely to seek advice than women with less than a high school education. Single (OR = 0.3; 95% CI 0.1-0.7) and multiparous (OR = 0.4; 95% CI 0.1-0.9) women were less likely to seek advice than married and nulliparous patients, respectively.

Prenatal care providers need to more actively engage pregnant women in a decision-making process and discuss risks and benefits of medication management during pregnancy.