Prescription drug use during and immediately before pregnancy in Hawai'i—findings from the Hawai'i Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2009-2011

There are relatively few population-based studies on prescription drug use during pregnancy. Hawai'i Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) survey data from 4,735 respondents were used to estimate statewide prevalence of overall non-vitamin prescription drug use during and in the month before pregnancy. Data were weighted to be representative of all pregnancies resulting in live births in Hawai'i in 2009-2011. Of women with recent live births in Hawai'i, 14.2% (95% CI: 13.0-15.5) reported prescription drug use before pregnancy and 17.6% (95% CI: 16.2-19.0) reported prescription drug use during pregnancy. Prevalence of prescription drug use both before and during pregnancy was highest among women who had a pre-pregnancy chronic disease, were White, and had a pregnancy-related medical problem. Pain relievers (2.82%; 95% CI: 2.28-3.47), psychiatric medications (2.34%; 95% CI: 1.85-2.95), and anti-infectives (1.91%; 95% CI: 1.46-2.48) were the most common types of medications used before pregnancy. The most commonly-reported prescription medication types taken during pregnancy were anti-infectives (4.00%; 95% CI: 3.34-4.79), pain relievers (3.18%; 95% CI: 2.56-3.94), and gastrointestinal drugs (3.08%; 95% CI: 2.47-3.83). Of women who reported prescription drug use during pregnancy and attended prenatal care, 10.3% (95% CI: 8.0-13.2) reported that their healthcare provider had not counseled them during prenatal care on which medicines are safe to use during pregnancy.