Taking Medication During Pregnancy
Medication Adherence is Essential for Healthy Prenatal Care
Mar 12, 2009
During pregnancy, there are times when medications are important for the health of you, your baby, or both. Healthy prenatal care may indicate the need for medications. Most obstetricians prescribe prenatal vitamins and recommend against taking any other types of medications unless absolutely necessary. It’s important to listen to your doctor and to always adhere to the doctor’s recommendations.
Taking medication when you are pregnant should always be only under the direction and advisement of your doctor or primary healthcare provider. There are various reasons that medicine may be necessary during pregnancy. It’s important to understand the purpose of a medication, as well as the potential risks to you and your unborn baby. Only your obstetrician or primary healthcare provider should prescribe medications for you while you are pregnant. If any other healthcare provider recommends medications, be sure to discuss them with your obstetrician first.
Healthy prenatal care also includes medication adherence. Not only is it important to know what and why are you are taking a particular medication, it is essential that you adhere to the doctor’s recommendations. Medication adherence is critical whether you are pregnant or not – but pregnant women should pay even closer attention to their intake of medicines since they are also taking care of an unborn child.
Why It is Important to Adhere to Medication Recommendations
Taking your medicine as directed will help you resolve the problems associated with an illness or other health problems. It is part of a healthy prenatal plan that can prevent further problems, serious illness, or complications in most cases. The National Council on Patient Information estimates that nearly one-half of all prescriptions filled each year are not used correctly.[1] That can cause serious problems for you and your baby.
Not only is non-adherence a personal healthcare issue, it’s a national healthcare issue as well. It contributes to the overall healthcare crisis in our nation. The National Council on Patient Information also indicates that poor medication compliance is estimated to cost more than $177 billion annually in total direct and indirect health care costs.[1]
How to Ensure You are Compliant
Medication compliance is essential for healthy prenatal care during pregnancy and any other time. To ensure you are compliant with your medications and doctor’s recommendations, consider the following:
- Only take medications that are approved by your obstetrician or primary care provider.
- Always take your medication at the same time each day so it becomes a routine habit. That includes prenatal vitamins and any other medications.
- Send yourself a reminder through your daily email calendar to remind you to take medications.
- Clarify any questions you have about instructions for taking medication.
- Make sure you understand any potential side effects of the medication so you are prepared to handle them if necessary. Ask about precautions you can take to avoid these side effects such as taking medication with food or other options.
- Take all of your medication as prescribed by your doctor. Do not stop taking medications once you are feeling better or if you experience side effects. Call your doctor before stopping any prescribed medication.
- Only take medicine that is necessary. Your unborn baby often ends up receiving some of everything that enters your body so caution is important.
- Keep medications out of sight and out of reach from other children in the home to avoid accidental ingestion.
Pregnancy is a wonderful time in your life and hopefully you won’t need to take any medications other than the normal prenatal vitamins or related medications. However, if you do need to take medications during pregnancy, be sure you are adherent with your doctor’s recommendations.
Your health and the health of your baby are too important to do anything less than exercise healthy prenatal care. Prenatal care includes strict medication compliance.
[1] Enhancing Prescription Medication Adherence accessed on 10/18/2007.
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