{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,10]],"date-time":"2026-10-10T01:04:35Z","timestamp":1791594275241,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,24]],"date-time":"2025-01-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1737676800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pharmacol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title><jats:p>Pregnancy is a sensitive period during which the use of medicines, whether by prescription or self-medication, is a major challenge as it can have a significant impact on the health of the mother and the development of the foetus. It is important that pregnant women are well-informed about potential risks and benefits and seek advice from healthcare professionals before taking any medication, including over-the-counter medications, to ensure the safety and health of themselves and their unborn child. The aim of this study was to analyse the self-medication practices of pregnant women and their knowledge and attitudes toward medicines in the context of pregnancy. This includes analysing the way pregnant women make decisions about self-medication and their awareness of potential risks and benefits.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of pregnant women from two cities of similar size and status, Zadar and Rijeka, in the period from 1 May 2023 to 1 June 2023 at the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka and the General Hospital Zadar.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Of the 128 women interviewed, 56% were taking prescription medication, most frequently in Rijeka, while 69.5% practised self-medication. The most commonly used medications were dietary supplements\u201475 (44.88%); over-the-counter pain relievers and fever, cough, allergy, cold, and nausea remedies\u201442 (33.07%); and herbal medicines\u20148 (6.29%).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Pregnant women need to be better informed about self-medication and the safe use of medication. A total of 94.5% of respondents consider it important to improve educational programmes and access to information about the effects of medication on the health of the foetus and pregnancy outcomes.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2025.1536050","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,24]],"date-time":"2025-01-24T10:06:11Z","timestamp":1737713171000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Self-medication and knowledge of pregnant women about the use of medication during pregnancy in the cities of Rijeka and Zadar, Croatia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"\u017deljko","family":"Jovanovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Petra","family":"Vuli\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11336","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph191811336","article-title":"Pharmacotherapy during pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation","volume":"19","author":"Allegaert","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. 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