V. Jayawardhani

Most of pregnant women take prescription or non-prescription drugs during pregnancy. In general, unless absolutely necessary, drugs should not be used during pregnancy because it can affect the fetus .The aim of this study was to evaluate the patterns of drug prescriptions to pregnant women in tertiary care hospital. It was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at MediCiti Institute of Medical Sciences, a tertiary care hospital of Medchal, Hyderabad. Prescriptions given to outpatients and inpatients pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics were collected. A simple questionnaire was used to gather information. The drugs were classified according to the pharmacological class and their teratogenic potential. The most frequently prescribed drugs were oral iron, folic acid preparations, antacids, antibacterials and analgesics. Majority were in accordance with WHO criteria for rational use of drugs except for prescription by generic names. Average number of drugs per encounter was 3.5, most common route of administration was oral. Most commonly used drugs were iron, folic acid. Most common antibiotic prescribed was amoxicillin. Most common condition for which drugs were prescribed was cough, backache and fever. All the prescribed drugs were available in hospital pharmacy in sufficient quantities.