EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE ON SELF-CARE WITH OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICINES AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN

Suheer Abdulghafar M. Juburi*

ABSTRACT

Background: Pregnancy-related self-care is an important topic of study since it affects the health of the mother and the fetus in major ways. Pregnant women are not documented to conduct self-care, especially when it comes to using over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of pregnant women attending maternity clinics with regard to self-care, including the use of over-the-counter medications. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out using 400 pregnant women as the sample, who were chosen using simple random sampling. A self-administered questionnaire that evaluated KAP and sociodemographic traits was used to collect data. With SPSS version 27, a descriptive statistical analysis was carried out. Results: The participants' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward using over-the-counter (OTC) medications for self-care were found to be generally good. The knowledge, attitude, and practice mean ± SD scores were 4.38 ± 0.873, 27.56 ± 3.752, and 20.35 ± 4.235, respectively. Knowledge and attitude (r = 0.375, p < 0.001), attitude and practice (r = 0.518, p < 0.001), and knowledge and practice (r = 0.224, p < 0.001) all showed significant positive linear associations. This suggests that more positive attitudes and self-care behaviors were linked to greater knowledge levels. Nonetheless, 26.3% of participants were ignorant about the possible effects of drugs on the fetus, and 93% of individuals mistakenly thought that any medication could be administered at any stage of pregnancy. Furthermore, 87% of respondents incorrectly believed that antibiotics could be purchased over-the-counter, and 96% felt they could purchase medications during pregnancy using previous prescriptions. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for increased awareness and education regarding the OTC drug use safely during pregnancy.

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