Prevalence of Usage of Herbal Medicine among Pregnant Women in Asaba, Delta State

Introduction: In the past two decades, the use of herbal medicines has grown considerably worldwide, especially among pregnant women. Herbal medicines are plant-derived materials or preparations that have therapeutic benefits. This study was aimed at determining the proportion, prevalence of use, attitude and knowledge base of pregnant women in Asaba, Nigeria vis a vis use of herbal medicines and potential effects of herbal remedies on the fetus.

Methodology: This study was performed at Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Delta State. A sample size of 400 pregnant women attending clinic at the facility was used for this study. Structured questionnaire was used to collect information to evaluate the attitude of respondents towards use of herbal medicine. The instrument which took about ten minutes to complete contained mostly close-ended questions, including Likert Attitudinal Scale and straight dichotomous questions. Three hundred and ninety three (393) questionnaires were completed, giving a response rate of over 99 percent.

Results: From the data, 266 (66.5%) respondents were in the age range 21-30 years old. Also, 163 (40.8%) had up to secondary level of education. On marital status, 393 (98.3%) were married. The data from the study also showed that 270 (67.5%), had used herbal medicines at one time or another within the period of the study, in the crude form that was prepared by respondents or as packaged herbal or dietary/nutritional supplements. This gives the prevalence of use of herbal medicines among pregnant women in Asaba to be 67.5%. Also, 324 (81.0%), were of the opinion that herbal medicines could be effective, 24 (6.1%) did not believe in the efficacy of herbal remedies, while the remaining 52 (12.9%) were not sure of the efficacy. Out of the 307 respondents who had used herbs prior or during the present pregnancy, 55 (18.0%) had experienced some form of untoward effects post administration of herbal medicines. The side effects experienced included vomiting 20 (36.9%), dizziness 13 (23.3%), malaise 7 (13.7%), headache 7 (13.7%), rashes 5 (8.2%) and diarrhea 3 (4.1%). One hundred and sixteen of the total respondents (29.0%) were using herbal medicine at the time of the study and believed that the use of herbal medicines during pregnancy is safe, though with different primary reasons for taking the herbal medicine of choice.

Conclusion: From this study it was seen that the use of herbal medicines by pregnant women in Asaba was seen to be quite high. Many of the patients who participated in this study seem to have confidence in the efficacy of herbal remedies and found them helpful as a cost effective and accessible alternative treatment.