Introduction: One of the main problems during pregnancy is maternal use of narcotic drugs and illegal drugs which are the cause of fetal malformations. Unfortunately, despite the proof of being harmful, use of narcotic and illegal drugs and abuse of these drugs without consultation is rising. The present study examined the prevalence of these drugs and awareness of pregnant women from side effects when referring to the main maternity hospital in the city of Ilam.
Methods: This cross sectional study was done in December 2009 on 74 pregnant women who were referred to Khomeini Hospital in Ilam city. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire and was analyzed by statistical software SPSS (version 16) and q square test. p < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: 49 patients (66.7%) were aware of side effects of narcotic drugs and 20 patients (27.3%) had partial knowledge. 14 (18.9%) of women were using analgesic drugs during pregnancy. The prevalence of drug use among pregnant women and their spouses was 4 person (5.4%) and 10 person (5/13.5%) respectively, and prevalence of alcohol consumption among pregnant women and their spouses was 3 person (4.05%) and 3 person (5.4%) respectively. Recreational prevalence among pregnant women and their partners had been 0% and 2 (2.7%) respectively. In 64 cases, an agreement existed (86.5%) among pregnant women and their spouses.
Conclusion: A large number of pregnant women have little to no awareness of effects of narcotic drugs and illegal drugs during pregnancy. Therefore, pregnant women need to be upgraded about the effects of these drugs.