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Use of antimigraine medications and information needs during pregnancy and breastfeeding: a cross-sectional study among 401 Norwegian women

  • Pharmacoepidemiology and Prescription
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Migraine is highly prevalent among women of fertile age. The main objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence and patterns of use of antimigraine medications during pregnancy and breastfeeding and to identify maternal and migraine-related factors associated with medication use during pregnancy.

Methods

The study is a cross-sectional internet-based survey among pregnant women and new mothers with migraine conducted in Norway from October 1, 2013 to February 1, 2014. Descriptive statistics were used to explore patterns of medication use, and logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between maternal socio-demographic and migraine-related factors and use of antimigraine medications during pregnancy.

Results

Of the total 401 respondents, 34.9 % were pregnant and 65.1 % had delivered within the last 18 months. The majority reported use of antimigraine medications during pregnancy (73.3 %) and postpartum (64.8 %), yet less than a third considered their migraine to be optimally treated during pregnancy (31.7 %) and the breastfeeding period (27.2 %). The patterns of medication use markedly changed during pregnancy and postpartum. Women with moderate or severe migraine were more likely to use antimigraine medications during pregnancy compared to women with mild migraine.

Conclusions

Despite the fact that antimigraine medications were commonly used, the majority of the women felt that their migraine was suboptimally treated during pregnancy and postpartum. There was a decline in the use of medicines in pregnancy and postpartum, and the patterns of use markedly changed. Efforts to improve treatment of women with migraine during pregnancy and breastfeeding should be undertaken.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by a research grant from the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority (project ID 12165/SFP1248-15). Thanks to all the women who participated in the study, Tom Wilsgaard for advice and help with the statistical analyses, and Stefan Barfeld for the translation of the questionnaire into English. Thanks also to Abdelkader El Hasnaoui for the permission to use the MIGSEV scale and to Thibaud Freyd for the assistance with back-translation of the scale into French. We acknowledge the assistance of RELIS (www.tryggmammamedisin.no), the Norwegian Migraine Association (www.migrene.no), and the website administrators Siri von Krogh (www.altformamma.no) and Elisabeth Lofthus (www.mammanet.no) who all contributed to the recruitment process.

Contributions of authors

NMSA, SA, HN, and TGØ designed the questionnaire. NMSA and TGØ developed the electronic version of the questionnaire and were actively promoting the study and recruiting participants in social media. SA conducted the analyses and drafted the manuscript. HN aided in the analyses and interpretation of the data and contributed to revisions of the manuscript with important intellectual content. ACP aided in the development of the questionnaire and provided comments for the revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Diagnostic Services, University Hospital of North Norway, PO Box 63, N-9038, Tromsø, Norway

    Siri Amundsen

  2. Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology Research Group, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Tromsø, Norway

    Siri Amundsen

  3. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Torunn G. Øvrebø, Netta Marie S. Amble & Hedvig Nordeng

  4. Sandvika Nevro Clinic, Sandvika, Norway

    Anne Christine Poole

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  1. Siri Amundsen
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  2. Torunn G. Øvrebø
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  3. Netta Marie S. Amble
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  5. Hedvig Nordeng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Siri Amundsen.

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Conflict of interest

ACP has given lectures and presentations for Allergan, GlaxoSmithKline, MSD, Nycomed, and Pfizer from 1999 until 2014 and has occasionally participated in advisory boards for Allergan, Nycomed, and GlaxoSmithKline.

The other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Amundsen, S., Øvrebø, T.G., Amble, N.M.S. et al. Use of antimigraine medications and information needs during pregnancy and breastfeeding: a cross-sectional study among 401 Norwegian women. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 72, 1525–1535 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-016-2127-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-016-2127-9

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