Tips for taking your study tablets

There are lots of reasons why it can sometimes be hard to take tablets consistently Have a look at some of our tips to help you to take your study tablets as recommended.

Why is it hard to take tablets sometimes?

There may be a number of reasons why it may be difficult to always take your tablets as recommended. As part of our earlier studies in PANDA, we spoke to women to understand the types of things they find sometimes find challenging about taking tablets during pregnancy. This included things like:

Swallowing the tablets sometimes feeling uncomfortable
Experiencing side effects from the tablets
Being too busy to take the tablets
Forgetting to take the tablets

Tips for taking your study tablets

We worked with pregnant women to jointly develop some tips to help with the most common things that can get in the way of taking tablets as recommended (click on each heading below to expand):

Swallowing tablets is uncomfortable

I’m too busy or I tend to forget

Try to keep track of when you take your study tablet:

Make a plan of the exact time you will take your study tablet each day
Cross off days on your calendar when you have taken a tablet
Keep a tally of the tablets you take
Link electronic calendar reminders to a to-do list
Already using an app to keep track of other medicines? Try using this for your study tablets as well

Try using reminders to prompt you to take your study tablet:

Use the PANDA text reminders
Add a reminder to your electronic or paper calendar
Set an alarm on your phone or other device like Alexa
Put a reminder sticker, like a post-it note, in an obvious place to prompt you
Link your study tablet taking to another activity in your day, like preparing your breakfast
Ask someone close to you to remind you to take your study tablet
Place your study tablet in an easy to see place (safely out of the reach of children)