PREVALENCE AND CAUSES OF SELF-MEDICATION IN PREGNANT WOMEN REFERRING TO HEALTH CENTERS IN SOUTHERN OF IRAN

Objective: The self-medication phenomenon is one of the acute health problems particularly in women and as encountering a sensitive period such as pregnancy is of critical importance. The present study has been conducted to determine the prevalence and causes of this phenomenon in the pregnant women in the city of Ahwaz, located in the west south of Iran. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study 801 pregnant Women referring to seven health centers in Southern of Iran were selected randomly based on the family (medical) file number and by proportional distribution to each center as a research unit and semi-structured questionnaires were completed through interviews. The data were analyzed by Chi square test and logistic regression. Results: The findingsshowed that 30.6% of etweender the age of 25. self-medicationwomen use self-medication showed 30.6% self-medication in pregnant women. The most frequent group were those under the age of 25. Most frequent self-medication cases belonged to the age group less than 25 years.The most common self-medication cases were digestive disorders. There was a significant relation between among age (P<0.01), gestational age (P <0.03) and education (P <0.002) with self- medication. The most common causes of synthetic drug use were mild diseases (19.8%), and high medical costs (35.4%), and harmlessness about herbal medications (68.8, 70.4 %). Conclusion: Due to the adverse effects of self-medication, particularly during pregnancy, which can lead to abnormal birth, it is necessary to take some measures raising the level of culture and preventing self-medication particularly in women