Impact of a primary care pharmacist consultations on pregnant women’s medication use: the SafeStart intervention study linked to a national prescription database

BACKGROUND: Prior studies show that pharmacist consultations are highly appreciated by pregnant women and feasible in community pharmacies. However, it is unknown whether such counseling has an impact on medication use during pregnancy. AIM: This study aimed to assess whether a pharmacist consultation in early pregnancy was associated with pregnant women’s medication use, with a focus on antiemetic medications. METHOD: The SafeStart study recruited Norwegian pregnant women in the first trimester between February 2018 and February 2019. Women in the intervention group received a pharmacist consultation in a community pharmacy or by phone. A follow-up questionnaire was completed 13 weeks after enrollment. Data from the SafeStart study were linked to the Norwegian Prescription Database. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between the pharmacist intervention and medication use in the second trimester. RESULTS: The study included 103 women in the intervention group and 126 in the control group. Overall prescription fills in the first and second trimesters were 55% and 45% (intervention group) and 49% and 52% (control group), respectively. In total, 16–20% of women in the first trimester and 21–27% of women in the second trimester had a prescription for antiemetics. The pharmacist intervention was not associated with women’s medication use in the second trimester. CONCLUSION: This study did not detect an impact of a pharmacist consultation on pregnant women’s use of medications. In the future, pharmacist consultations should focus on other outcome factors, such as risk perception, knowledge level, and the use of other health care services. Trial registration The SafeStart study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT04182750, registration date: December 2, 2019). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11096-023-01577-x.