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Beliefs about medicines and information needs among pregnant women visiting a tertiary hospital in Belgium

  • Pharmacoepidemiology and Prescription
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

To explore beliefs about medicines and information needs among pregnant women visiting a tertiary hospital in Belgium and to identify patient characteristics associated with beliefs about medicines.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed at the outpatient obstetrics clinic of the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium, between December 2016 and March 2017. All pregnant women ≥ 18 years were invited to complete a web survey. The survey consisted of general and pregnancy-specific statements of the “Beliefs about Medicines” questionnaire and questions about information needs. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact tests, and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze the findings.

Results

In total, 372 pregnant women participated. Most women showed positive attitudes towards medicines in general. However, almost 90% of women agreed to have a higher threshold to use medicines during pregnancy compared with non-pregnant situations. Likewise, 40% preferred natural remedies during pregnancy. Education in healthcare and education level were the main determinants associated with beliefs, with highly educated women showing a higher threshold to use medicines during pregnancy (p = 0.005). Most women searched online for pregnancy-related information (85%) and for information about medicines (74%). However, less than one-third discussed online-retrieved information with healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Conclusions

Pregnant women visiting a tertiary hospital in Belgium showed a higher threshold to use medicines during pregnancy compared with non-pregnant situations and had high information needs, including for information about medicines during pregnancy. HCPs should be aware of women’s individual beliefs, guide them towards reliable websites, and discuss online-retrieved information during counseling.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to R. Horne, H. Nordeng, A. Gauchet, and S. Liekens for granting permission to use the questionnaires. We also thank the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Academic Foundation Leuven for supporting this research project, the master students and midwives of the University Hospital for their contribution to data collection, and statistician Martial Luyts for his help with data analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, Box 521, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Michael Ceulemans & Veerle Foulon

  2. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium

    Kristel Van Calsteren

  3. Department of Development and Regeneration, Organ Systems, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Kristel Van Calsteren & Karel Allegaert

  4. Intensive Care and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology Erasmus MC – Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Karel Allegaert

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  1. Michael Ceulemans
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  3. Karel Allegaert
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  4. Veerle Foulon
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Contributions

MC carried out data collection and data analysis and drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to the project design and interpretation of data and reviewed and approved the initial and final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Ceulemans.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval was granted from the local Medical Ethics committee, and the study was conducted in accordance with all applicable subject privacy requirements and ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Ceulemans, M., Van Calsteren, K., Allegaert, K. et al. Beliefs about medicines and information needs among pregnant women visiting a tertiary hospital in Belgium. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 75, 995–1003 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-019-02653-w

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