الفهرس 
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Abstract
Drug utilization during pregnancy is a global public health concern in both developed and developing countries. Drug use during pregnancy is prevalent, with (44–99%) of women being prescribed medication during pregnancy.
Total avoidance of treatment in pregnancy is not possible and may be dangerous because some women enter pregnancy with medical conditions that require ongoing and episodic treatment (e.g. Asthma, epilepsy, hypertension). Also during pregnancy new medical problems can develop and old ones can be exacerbated (e.g. Migraine, headache) requiring pharmacological therapy.
In 1979, the Food and Drug Administration developed a system that determines the teratogenic risk of drugs by considering the quality of data from animal and human studies. FDA classifies various drugs used in pregnancy into five categories, categories A, B, C, D and X. Category A is considered the safest category and category X is absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy. This provides therapeutic guidance for the clinician.
The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of medication use during pregnancy, ensuring the safe and effective use of medication during pregnancy and the common drugs used among pregnant females attending rural health unit in Mansoura district, Dakahlia Governorate.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 350 pregnant women, attending the selected rural family health unit, Mansoura district, Dakahlia Governorate.
The studied pregnant females were subjected to structured questionnaire to collect data regarding socio-demographic criteria, obstetric history, medical history and history about prescribed medication and self-medication used during pregnancy.
The study revealed that the frequency of medication use during pregnancy due to acute and chronic illness was (15% and 18%) respectively. The common supplement intake during pregnancy were iron and calcium (96.2%, 96.9%) respectively, folic acid (60%). Antiemetics drugs were frequently used during 1st trimester (57.1%), progesterone and aspirin (54.3%, 25.7%) were frequently used during 1st trimester. About (22%) of the studied pregnant women received medication without a doctor’s prescription (self-medication) and about (42%) of pregnant women used herbal medication during pregnancy. There was a significant difference between participants in different pregnancy trimesters as regard common health problems during pregnancy. Vomiting and constipation were the most common health problems during 1st trimesters (71.4%, 22.9%) and vaginitis was common in 3rd trimesters (14.7%).
About 92% of the most common medication used among the studied pregnant women were safe (category B) according to FDA classification of drugs.