Frequency, Causes and How to Use Medicinal Herbs during Pregnancy

Nowadays, the use of medicinal herbs is fairly common,whilemedicinal herbs don’t have specific doses and can have more threatening consequences for the mother and the fetus, so this study was performed with aim to evaluate the frequency, causes and how to use medicinal herbs during pregnancy.
This descriptive-analytical study was performed on143 women giving birth in the gynecology ward of Yazd ShahidSadoughi hospital in 2016. Data were collected using a self-designed questionnaires consisted 2 sections. The first part was related to the demographic information and the second part was about the performance of women regarding the use of medicinal herbs during pregnancy (13 items) . Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 19) and using Chi-square, independent-t, and logistic regression tests. P 129 (90.2%) of participants had used medicinalherbs during pregnancy, 78 women (60.46%) had simultaneously used 1-2 medicinal plants, 95 (73.64%) had used as herbal tea, 53 (41.08%) used Ginger (mostly to control nausea and vomiting) and 39 (30.23%) used Peppermint (mostly to control heartburn). The information sources of 122 (94.57%) was family and friends.
Since most samples had used herbs for various reasons during pregnancy and stated family and friends is their source for information; therefore, it is necessary to inform mothers about the risks and benefits of common consumed herbs and to evaluate the safety of these plants on the health of mother and fetus.