The use of herbal medicines during breastfeeding: a population-based survey in Western Australia

Abstract

BackgroundMain concerns for lactating women about medications include the safety of their breastfed infants and the potential effects of medication on quantity and quality of breast milk. While medicine treatments include conventional and complementary medicines, most studies to date have focused on evaluating the safety aspect of conventional medicines. Despite increasing popularity of herbal medicines, there are currently limited data available on the pattern of use and safety of these medicines during breastfeeding. This study aimed to identify the pattern of use of herbal medicines during breastfeeding in Perth, Western Australia, and to identify aspects which require further clinical research.MethodsThis study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire validated through two pilot studies. Participants were 18 years or older, breastfeeding or had breastfed in the past 12 months. Participants were recruited from various community and health centres, and through advertising in newspapers. Simple descriptive statistics were used to summarise the demographic profile and attitudes of respondents, using the SPSS statistical software.ResultsA total of 304 questionnaires from eligible participants were returned (27.2% response rate) and analysed. Amongst the respondents, 59.9% took at least one herb for medicinal purposes during breastfeeding, whilst 24.3% reported the use of at least one herb to increase breast milk supply. Most commonly used herbs were fenugreek (18.4%), ginger (11.8%), dong quai (7.9%), chamomile (7.2%), garlic (6.6%) and blessed thistle (5.9%). The majority of participants (70.1%) believed that there was a lack of information resources, whilst 43.4% perceived herbal medicines to be safer than conventional medicines. Only 28.6% of users notified their doctor of their decision to use herbal medicine(s) during breastfeeding; 71.6% had previously refused or avoided conventional medicine treatments due to concerns regarding safety of their breastfed infants.ConclusionsThe use of herbal medicines is common amongst breastfeeding women, while information supporting their safety and efficacy is lacking. This study has demonstrated the need for further research into commonly used herbal medicines. Evidence-based information should be available to breastfeeding women who wish to consider use of all medicines, including complementary medicines, to avoid unnecessary cessation of breastfeeding or compromising of pharmacotherapy.

Health provider experiences with galactagogues to support breastfeeding: a cross-sectional survey

“…Similarly, domperidone and metoclopramide were ‘never’ or only ‘rarely’ recommended. Other surveys on galactagogues have reported largely similar findings to those described here 23–25,29. However, Swiss respondents seemed to recommend predominantly oxytocin nasal spray, herbals, and homeopathic remedies, whereas Canadian respondents used domperidone as well as herbal remedies,28 indicating differences by geographic region.…”

Perspectives and attitudes of breastfeeding women using herbal galactagogues during breastfeeding: a qualitative study

“…The same study reported that 24% of respondents were using herbal medicines for the purpose of increasing breast milk supply and to promote breastfeeding performance, regardless of whether participants had been diagnosed with insufficient milk supply or not [5]. Fenugreek was the most commonly used herbal galactagogue during breastfeeding amongst the survey respondents.…”

Ethnobotanical uses of wild taxa as galactagogues in Sicily (Italy)

“…We compared the data gathered during the field study to other ethnobotanical investigations dealing with this subject, and to national and international ethnobotanical literature sources and popular references that considered the traditional uses of wild plants in local cuisines for galactagogue purposes [1,12,23,[28][29][30][31][32]39,[49][50][51][52]. The data obtained (frequency of mention, usage of the parts of the plants, and methods of preparation) were evaluated using the cross-table analysis tool in Microsoft Excel software.…”