Consommation de médicaments en période périnatale : étude comparative chez des femmes allaitant ou non leur enfant

The present study examines the use of medications during the post-partum period in two groups of women who delivered in Toulouse university hospital: 100 mothers who breastfed their infants and 100 mothers who did not. Data concerning drug consumption during the hospitalization were collected using a questionnaire. A booklet eliciting prospective collection of drug use during the two first months after delivery was given to the women who sent it back to the centre. Women were 31 ± 5.6 years old and 60% of them had a professional activity. During hospitalization, lactating women used as many drugs as non-lactating women (excluding bromocriptine used by non-lactating women): 2.4 ± 1.3 and 2.8 ± 1.4 respectively (P = 0.07). In non-lactating group, 8% did not breastfeed their infant because of drug use. 22.5% of the women (27 lactating women and 18 non-lactating women) sent back the booklet indicating drug use in the two first months following delivery. The mean number of drugs use did not differed between lactating and non-lactating women (2.3 ± 2.2 vs 3 ± 1.7; P = 0.2). 17.8% of lactating women were self-medicated. They only used homeopathy for self-medication. The most frequently used drugs were: paracetamol, phloroglucinol, iron, amoxicillin and diosmine. No adverse effects were observed in the newborns. Lactating women were exposed to drugs as much as non-lactating women. French lactating women consumed more drugs than in other countries. Eight women who used drugs chronically did not breastfeed their infant because of still limited knowledge of the effects on the newborn.