Introduction: It is often impossible to avoid taking medicines during pregnancy. Pregnancy hormones cause numerous physiological changes in the female body, which can also affect the pharmacokinetics of consumed medicines and can change their safety and effectiveness. Consumed active ingredients in varying extents pass through the placenta into the bloodstream of the fetus, where some can cause varius harmful effects. Pharmacotherapy during pregnancy can therefore pose a risk to both, the pregnant woman and the fetus. Since only a few active ingredients can be claimed to be completely safe during pregnancy, we try to limit medication use as much as possible. Purpose: The purpuse of diploma work is to research and define medication use among pregnant women in Slovenia. Methods: We used a descriptive and causal non-experimental method of empirical research. The theoretical part of the diploma work was based on a systematic review of professional literature and the research was conducted with a survey questionnaire in the on-line app 1KA. Results: 55,1 % of the surveyed women consumed at least one prescription medication and 64,7 % at least one over-the-counter medication during their pregnancy. Prescription medications were mostly used for treatment of acute infections, anemia and pain, while non-prescription medications were mostly used for pain and/or fever, cold symptoms and digestive problems. Among the prescription medications were the most frequently used medications for the treatment of anemia, antithrombotics and thyroid medications, while participants only occasionally used antibiotics, analgesics and medications for the treatment of gastrointestinal functional disorders. Among over-the-counter medications, respondents most frequently used medications for the treatment of digestive problems, while they only occasionally used medications for the treatment of cold symptoms. Only a small proportion of the surveyed women did not inquire about medication safety for the fetus before consuming medication during pregnancy. Discussion and conclusion: The results of our research, which show that the use of drugs among Slovenian pregnant women is relatively common, are comparable to the results of similar research conducted in European countries and other developed countries of the world. Published studies indicate that the use of medications during pregnancy is influenced by the age of the pregnant women, their level of education and the presence of chronic diseases. Our research shows that Slovenian pregnant women are well aware of the potential danger of medication consumption during pregnancy, but they have trust in recommendations and instructions from the healthcare workers.
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