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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2023; 83(07): 850-861
DOI: 10.1055/a-2091-0620
GebFra Science
Original Article

Antibiotic Treatment During Pregnancy and the First Six Months Postpartum – a Secondary Analysis of the “Healthy Living in Pregnancy” (GeliS) Study

Article in several languages: English | deutsch
Johanna Knoke 
1   Institut für Ernährungsmedizin, Else Kröner-Fresenius-Zentrum für Ernährungsmedizin, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, München, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27190)
,
Roxana Raab 
1   Institut für Ernährungsmedizin, Else Kröner-Fresenius-Zentrum für Ernährungsmedizin, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, München, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27190)
,
Kristina Geyer 
1   Institut für Ernährungsmedizin, Else Kröner-Fresenius-Zentrum für Ernährungsmedizin, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, München, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27190)
,
Monika Spies 
1   Institut für Ernährungsmedizin, Else Kröner-Fresenius-Zentrum für Ernährungsmedizin, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, München, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27190)
,
Bernhard Haller 
2   Institut für KI und Informatik in der Medizin, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, München, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27190)
,
Hans Hauner 
1   Institut für Ernährungsmedizin, Else Kröner-Fresenius-Zentrum für Ernährungsmedizin, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, München, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27190)
› Author Affiliations
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registration number (trial ID): NCT01958307, Trial registry:, Type of Study: Project number 5653/13
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Abstract

Introduction

Antibiotic therapies for the treatment of bacterial infections pose a particular challenge during pregnancy and breastfeeding. For Germany, there is hardly any information on the frequency of antibiotic use during this phase. Our analysis uses data from the “Healthy Living in Pregnancy” (GeliS) study to describe antibiotic treatments during pregnancy and in the first six months after birth (postpartum), and to compare their use with existing recommendations.

Methods

This is a retrospective secondary analysis of the GeliS study. In the cluster randomized lifestyle intervention study, detailed information on antibiotic therapies during pregnancy and postpartum was collected using surveys. Chi-square tests and generalized estimating equations were used for evaluation.

Results

Of the 1636 women included in the analysis, 21% reported antibiotic treatment at least once during pregnancy (14%) or in the first six months postpartum (7%). During pregnancy, the antibiotic therapies of women increased from 1.7% in the first trimester to 6.5% in the third trimester. Common reasons for treatment were urinary tract infections (7.3% of women), ear, nose, throat (ENT) infections (3.6%), and birth complications (2.6%). The information on the prescribed preparations corresponded to the current recommendations. A significant increase in the frequency of treatment with antibiotics was observed in the lifestyle intervention group (p < 0.001), in participants without a partner (p < 0.001), and in women who breastfed their children (p = 0.005) or gave birth by caesarean section (p = 0.003) or prematurely (p = 0.012). Other socioeconomic or lifestyle factors were not significant.

Conclusion

Approximately one in five women receives at least one antibiotic treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding that meets current treatment recommendations. Treatment with antibiotics is more common in premature births, caesarean sections, and breastfeeding women.

Keywords

antibiotics - infection - pregnancy - breastfeeding


Publication History

Received: 12 November 2022

Accepted after revision: 06 May 2023

Article published online:
03 July 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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