ArticleBMJ open2023
Women's experiences of over-the-counter and prescription medication during pregnancy in the UK: findings from survey free-text responses and narrative interviews.
Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Beyond associations: Navigating the safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in early pregnancy.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Development and Launch of a Dutch Mobile App (MediMama) on Over-the-Counter Medication Safety During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Development and Usability Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Continuation and discontinuation of antidepressant treatment before, during and after pregnancy: a cohort study.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Article
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in women of reproductive age: a systematic review of local formularies.BJGP open · 2024Article
- The use, perceptions and knowledge of safety of over-the-counter medications during pregnancy in a Canadian population.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo explore women's experiences of over-the-counter and prescription medication advice and use during pregnancy.
designA study design consisting of an online survey and nested in-depth interviews with a subsample of participants. We analysed data from survey free-text responses and in-depth interviews using thematic analysis. Quantitative survey data is published elsewhere.
settingThe UK.
participantsWomen were eligible if living in the UK, aged 16-45 years, were pregnant or had been pregnant in the last 5 years regardless of pregnancy outcome. A total of 7090 women completed the survey, and 34 women who collectively had experienced 68 pregnancies were subsequently interviewed.
resultsMedication prescribing and use during pregnancy was common. The prescribing, dispensing and taking of some advised medications were restricted through women's or prescribers' fear of fetal harm. Lack of adherence to national prescribing guidance, conflicting professional opinion and poor communication resulted in maternal anxiety, avoidable morbidity and women negotiating complex and distressing pathways to obtain recommended medications. In contrast, some women felt overmedicated and that pharmacological treatments were used without exploring other options first.
conclusionIncreased translation of national guidance into practice and greater personalisation of antenatal care are needed to improve the safety, efficacy and personalisation of prescribing in pregnancy.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.