Objective: To assess differences between native Spanish and immigrant pregnant women in behaviour relating to the use of medications during pregnancy. Study design: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology of an acute-care teaching hospital in the city of Barcelona, Spain. A total of 1103 women who gave birth at the hospital during a 1-year period were enrolled in the study. Each woman was interviewed by a gynaecologist during her stay in hospital after delivery, with special reference to drug use during the pregnancy. Drug exposure was assigned to trimesters, and drugs were divided into therapeutic groups, while the women taking part were divided up by nationality, educational level, parity and age. Data were analysed using bivariate, multivariate, and cluster analyses. Results: Slightly over half (55.7%) of the women were native to Spain and 44.3% were immigrants of other nationalities. About a quarter, or 25.4%, of pregnant patients had not taken any drugs during their pregnancies. The most frequent drugs taken by the others were vitamins, which were used mostly by Spanish women, followed by analgesics, which were mostly taken by non-Spanish western women. The largest group who had taken folic acid was made up of non-Spanish western women, while the Asiatic patients had taken this in the smallest proportion of cases. Conclusions: Spanish patients and immigrants from other western countries showed a similar behaviour in terms of drug intake during pregnancy, which was different from the behavioural patterns seen in pregnant patients from developing countries. © 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behaviour immigrants Pregnancy Drug intake

education statistical analysis immigrant antifungal agent hospitalization Asian Maternal Age developing country ampicillin human corticosteroid acetylsalicylic acid antibiotic agent paracetamol ethnic group controlled study priority journal Calcium interview cluster analysis Spain female hospital department Multivariate Analysis Behavior pregnancy Conference Paper vitamin clavulanic acid teaching hospital digestive tract agent delivery cotrimoxazole city major clinical study adult drug exposure cefonicid amoxicillin almagate doxylamine drug use data analysis medical specialist folic acid dipyrone metoclopramide iron fosfomycin pregnant woman parity scopolamine childbirth psychotropic agent uterus spasmolytic agent unindexed drug ranitidine ibuprofen analgesic agent cefuroxime diclofenac antivirus agent