Table 2.

Identified themes and examples of statements provided by the responders regarding medication use during pregnancy

Confident	’I have been to the specialist and I have received good information and support.’ (Medicated woman with inflammatory bowel disease, 30 years old from Norway)
	’People told me things about amoxicillin that my doctor gave me, but he told me that it is not harmful and that I needed it. Listen to your doctor and trust him.’ (Medicated woman with rheumatic disease, 43 years old from Croatia)
	‘I cannot say that I restricted myself. I used medications as it was needed, I do not think it caused any harm to my child.’ (Non-medicated woman with cardiovascular disease, 23 years old from Russia)
Underinformed	‘Which medicines are proven harmless to the foetus, percentages, thank you! Many are afraid to take any medicines during pregnancy because of an exact answer may not be .’ (Non-medicated woman with cardiovascular disease, 26 years old from Finland)
	‘It is very difficult to find a drug that is acceptable in pregnancy. Even for very simple things it is stated that pregnancy is a contraindication.’ (Non-medicated woman with cardiovascular disease, 26 years old from Russia)
	‘I chose to use medication minimally due to uncertain information about how this could affect the foetus.’ (Non-medicated woman with cardiovascular disease, 26 years old from Norway)
Confused	‘Frequently we see differences in drugs information and in recommendations from our general doctors or gynaecologists. Should we believe the drug information or to the other side?’ (Medicated woman with asthma and allergy, 31 years old from Croatia)
	’I find it hard to be in the middle of opinions from doctors, between the gynaecologist and the medical specialist. One says I can take all my medication, while the gynaecologist said that everything must be stopped. Who to believe?’ (Medicated woman with inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatic disease, 26 years old from Switzerland)
	‘To me it seems like that there is a kind of psychological terror on the use of medications. To some doctors, no medication can be taken during pregnancy, others give far too many possibilities in this regard.’ (Medicated woman with rheumatic disease, 39 years old from Italy)
Guilt	‘In a previous pregnancy, I used Panadol every day to painful knee ache, so that I was able to walk. So my son was born with a multicystic kidney and an undescended testicle. I think that the drug could have an impact on birth defect.’ (Non-medicated woman with inflammatory bowel disease, 24 years old from Finland)
	‘Unfortunately, I had to take many medications and I felt very guilty (and I still do feel guilty) but if I did not take them, my child would probably not be born.’ (Medicated woman with cardiovascular disease, 37 years old from Italy)
	‘I've reduced after consultation with the neurologist the dosage, as I had concerns for the child. It came to seizures because the level was too low, so the dose had to be increased again. Despite my concerns, I had to take the medication. It was very difficult for me, but I had no choice.’ (Medicated woman with epilepsy, 30 years old from Switzerland)
Avoiding medication	‘I stopped taking my medication as soon as I knew I was pregnant.’ (Medicated woman with rheumatic disease, 27 years old from Switzerland)
	‘Generally: I'm terrified to hurt my foetus and try to avoid all drugs, both with and without a prescription. I have sleeping problems, but do not take the pill the doctor has prescribed to me (for the same reason). But daily life becomes heavy when you cannot sleep.’ (Non-medicated woman with rheumatic disease, 36 years old from Norway)
	‘I intentionally did not take medications during pregnancy.’ (Non-medicated woman with asthma and allergy, 26 years all from Russia)