Obstetrician–gynecologists’ perspectives towards medication use during pregnancy: A cross-sectional study

A vast majority of studies evaluated pregnant women’s knowledge and attitudes towards using medications during their pregnancy, with few global and lack of regional studies conducted to spot obstetrician-gynecologists practices in this regard. This study aims to assess Obstetrician–gynecologists’ knowledge of medication teratogenicity potential, their frequently used resources, and their residency training contribution to medication use during pregnancy. This is a cross-sectional, survey-based study targeting licensed Obstetrician–gynecologists who are practicing in Saudi Arabia using a validated self-administered web-based questionnaire developed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. A total of 60 obstetrician-gynecologists were included in the study. Most participants were female (72%) with median age and clinical experience of 42 and 13 years, respectively. The majority (87%) agreed that Isotretinoin is contraindicated, while around 60% of respondents were unsure about the safety of herbal remedies use. Online databases (e.g., Lexi-Comp and Micromedex) were chosen as the top utilized medication resources (45%). Around 48% strongly agreed that liability is a concern if there were adverse pregnancy outcomes following the use of medications. Regarding their training assessment, obstetrician-gynecologists who had been in practice for more than 15 years were significantly more likely to rate themselves as well qualified (P value < .05). The majority adequately and significantly rated their training on prescribed medications (58.3%), OTC medications (45%) and dietary supplements or herbal remedies (32%) (P value < .05). Obstetrician–gynecologists showed a different level of knowledge about the risks and safety of medications when used during pregnancy. More efforts are needed to optimize medication selection, herbal avoidance, and training performance.