The prevalence of self-medication in breastfeeding mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The mothers’ information about nonprescribed medications during breastfeeding		Frequency (%)

The accuracy of the mothers’	Accurate	212 (56.2%)
information about the side effects	information
of nonprescribed medications	Inaccurate	131 (34.7%)
	information
	The mothers	14 (3.7%)
	did not have
	any information
	Not enough	20 (5.3%)
	data available
The accuracy of the mothers’	Accurate	278 (73.7%)
information about routine breast-	information
feeding while taking nonprescribed medications	Inaccurate information	73 (19.4%)
	Not enough	26 (6.9%)
	data available
The accuracy of the mothers’	Accurate	261 (69.2%)
information about secretion of	information
nonprescribed medications into breast milk	Inaccurate information	31 (8.2%)
	The mothers	41 (10.9%)
	did not have any
	information
	Not enough	44 (11.7%)
	data available

Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system	Frequency (%)
Alimentary tract and metabolism	45 (11.9%)
Blood and blood-forming organs	14 (3.7%)
Cardiovascular system	2 (0.5%)
Genito-urinary system and sex hormones	34 (9.0%)
Anti-infectives for systemic use	53 (14.1%)
Musculoskeletal system	32 (8.5%)
Nervous system	173 (45.9%)
Anti-parasitic products, insecticides, and repellents	4 (1.1%)
Respiratory system	19 (5.0%)
Sensory organs	1 (0.30%)
Total	377 (100%)

Drug use data	Categories	Frequency (%)
Source of drug	Family members and friends	73 (19.3%)
information for self-medication	Internet and online social media	12 (3.2%)
	Pharmacy staff	153 (40.6%)
	Previous experiences	140 (37.1%)
	Health centers	13 (3.4%)
Duration of the	Less than one week	293 (77.7%)
nonprescribed medication use	One week to one month	54 (14.3%)
	More than one month	30 (8.0%)
Time of the drug	The first six months after	225 (60.7%)
use during the	delivery
18 months after delivery	The second six months after delivery	194 (51.4%)
	The third six months after	52 (13.7%)
	delivery
Common indica-	Digestive problems	9 (2.4%)
tions medication for self-	Urinary problems	7 (1.9%)
	Migraine and pain	141 (37.4%)
	Problems with milk volume	23 (6.1%)
	Respiratory problems	129 (34.2%)
	Anaemia	15 (4.0%)
	Tooth infection	14 (3.7%)
	Abscesses and breast infec-	3 (0.8%)
	tions
	Uterine infection	6 (1.6%)
	Other	30 (8.0%)

Reasons	Frequency (%)
COVID-19 outbreak	246 (65.3%)
Financial problems and cost saving	75 (19.9%)
Unseriousness of the disease from the mothers’ perspectives	114 (30.2%)
Consulting with close relatives who are physicians	14 (3.7%)
The mother or father is a physician or a therapist	16 (4.2%)
Absence of health insurance	4 (1.1%)
Consulting with health center staff and care providers	5 (1.3%)
Anti-parasitic products, insecticides, and repellents	4 (1.1%)
Poor health service provision due to living in a deprived area	1 (0.3%)
Easier access to a pharmacy than to a doctor	52 (13.8%)

Classification	Frequency (%)
Compatible	279 (74.0%)
No human data – probably compatible	61 (16.2%)
Breastfeeding is contraindicated by the manufacturer	18 (4.8%)
Limited human data – probably compatible	6 (1.6%)
Breastfeeding is allowed only upon the physician’s advice	1 (0.3%)
Breastfeeding is not recommended by the manufacturer	10 (2.7%)
Limited human data – potential toxicity	2 (0.5%)

Characteristics	Frequency (%)
Routes of birth delivery
Caesarean section	119 (52.2%)
Vaginal delivery	109 (47.8%)
Mothers’ education
Illiterate	6 (2.6%)
Less than high school diploma	21 (9.2%)
High school diploma	89 (39.0%)
More than high school diploma	112 (49.2%)
Mothers’ jobs
Housewife	182 (79. 8%)
Employee	41 (18.0%)
University student	1 (0.4%)
Medical staff	4 (1.8%)
Fathers’ jobs
Unemployed	4 (1.8%)
Self-employed	155 (68.0%)
Employee	63 (27.6%)
University student	1 (0.4%)
Medical staff	5 (2.2%)
Income per month (dollar)
Less than 70	41 (18.0%)
70-170	134 (58.8%)
More than 170	53 (32.2%)
Infants’ diets
Exclusive breastfeeding	49 (21.5%)
Breastfeeding plus supplementary food	155 (68.0%)
Breastfeeding plus infant formula	8 (3.5%)
Breastfeeding plus infant formula plus	16 (7.0%)
supplementary food
Breastfeeding (times per day)
Less than 5 times	28 (12.3%)
5-10 times	119 (52.2%)
More than 10 times	81 (35.5%)

Questions	answers	Frequency (%)
Did you read the drug information leaflet before using the non-prescribed	Yes	118 (31.3%)
medication?	No	259 (7/68%)
Did the drug have any effects on the	Yes	74 (19.6%)
quality and quantity of your milk?	No	292 (77.5%)
	Did not notice	11 (2.9%)
Did you breastfeed as usual while	Yes	363 (96.3%)
taking the nonprescribed medication?	No	14 (3.7%)
	Yes	286 (75.9%)
	No	30 (8.0%)
Is the used drug secreted into breast milk?	Do not know	61 (16.2%)
Is the drug use during lactation	Yes	209 (55.4%)
permissible?	No	28 (7.4%)
	Do not know	140 (37.1%)
Does the used drug have adverse	Yes	20 (5.3%)
effects on infants?	No	343 (91.0%)
	Do not know	14 (3.7%)

Périodicité:: Volume Open
Sujets de la revue:: Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Pediatrics and Juvenile Medicine, Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Public Health