Background: The physiologic changes that occur during pregnancy can lead to a variety of conditions that can usually be self-treated. There are no licensed medicines for conditions such as morning sickness or insomnia in pregnancy, and evidence from Western countries suggests that patients often resort to using herbal medicines. Research on the health behaviors of pregnant women in the United Kingdom with respect to herbal remedies has not been undertaken.
Objective: The objective of this study is to describe the use and the user of herbal remedies during pregnancy and to study the sources of information about herbs used.
Design: The study design was a survey among expectant mothers more than 20 weeks pregnant presenting at an antenatal clinic.
Setting: The setting was an antenatal clinic and antenatal ultrasound department at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. One thousand and thirty-seven (1037) questionnaires were handed out between November 2007 and February 2008.
Results: Five hundred and seventy-eight (578) questionnaires were returned (55.7%). Three hundred and thirty-four (334) of the 578 respondents (57.8%) reported using herbal remedies during pregnancy with a mean of 1.2 remedies per woman (median: 1, range: 0-10). The most commonly used remedies were ginger, cranberry, and raspberry leaf. The most probable user had been pregnant before and had a university degree. "Family and friends" were the most frequently cited source of information about herbal remedies during pregnancy, and more than 75% of the users reportedly did not tell their doctor or midwife about the use.
Conclusions: A large percentage of the women in the study used herbal remedies during pregnancy--many of them without informing their doctor or midwife. Doctors or midwives should ask pregnant women if they use herbal remedies during pregnancy. Health care personnel should be open to discuss the use of herbal remedies during pregnancy and be able to give balanced information as the use is so widespread.