title: Drug counselling in pregnancy: an opinion survey of French community pharmacists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to determine whether community pharmacists recommend appropriate medications and give valid information to pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 163 community pharmacists randomly selected in the Midi-Pyrénées area were interviewed by means of an open questionnaire. Ten scenarios were proposed concerning back pain, headache, coughs and sore-throats, fever, constipation, nausea, dyspepsia, 'venous insufficiency', allergic rhinitis and insomnia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the total, 130 pharmacists accepted to answer. Out of them 94.5% reported advising homeopathy, especially for coughs and allergy. They often advised medication for pain, fever, nose and oropharynx disorders, 'venous insufficiency', dyspepsia or constipation. By contrast, they referred the women to the general practitioner for nausea and vomiting or back pain. Advice without drug dispensation was given for gastrointestinal disorders or 'venous insufficiency'. Phytotherapy only concerned 0.5-2% of the answers except for anxiety and sleep disturbances (59%), 'venous disorders'(17%) and sore-throat (9%). Pharmacists' answers were sometimes inappropriate involving (1) pharmacologically illogical advice, (2) drugs for which neither clinical nor experimental data are available and (3) drugs potentially harmful in pregnancy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study shows that French community pharmacists do not always give appropriate advice to pregnant women. As primary health care providers, pharmacists have to improve counselling regarding drug use in pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Research Unit of Pharmacoepidemiology, Faculté de Médecine, Toulouse, France. damase@cict.fr
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Damase-Michel
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vié
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lacroix
authors.forename: Maryse
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lapeyre-Mestre
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Montastruc
mesh_terms: D003157:Community Pharmacy Services; D003376:Counseling; D004346:Drug Information Services; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010595:Pharmacists; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires