Aim: To determine the reasons for the possible overuse of antibiotics by investigating whether family‐related medical, behavioural, emotional, and social risk factors during the mother's pregnancy and childbirth are associated with subsequent recurrent antibiotic therapy of infants. Methods: Subject selection was based on stratified randomized cluster sampling. A total of 1443 women (91%) and their spouses expecting their first child gave informed consent to participate and 1287 infants were born. The parents of 817/1025 infants (80%) reported the number of courses of antibiotic therapy the child had Received at the ages of 9 and 18 mo. The outcome measure was the number of courses of antibiotic therapy (none/1–5/= 6) given during the first 18 mo of life. The explanatory variables included family‐related factors during the pregnancy and immediately after childbirth. Results: In the final multivariate stepwise analysis, parents' long‐term illnesses were associated with recurrent antibiotic medication.

Conclusions: Parents with long‐term illnesses need special guidance and support from the beginning of the mother's pregnancy in order to minimize the subsequent risk for recurrent antibiotic therapy of their infants. Preventive healthcare workers should be aware of the effects of these factors on parental guidance.