Use of Herbal Medicine by Pregnant Women: What Physicians Need to Know

Abstract

About 80% of the consumers worldwide use herbal medicine (HMs) or other natural products. The percentage may vary significantly (7%-55%) among pregnant women, depending upon social status, ethnicity, and cultural traditions. This manuscript discusses the most common HMs used by pregnant women, and the potential interactions of HMs with conventional drugs in some medical conditions that occur during pregnancy (e.g., hypertension, asthma, epilepsy). It also includes an examination of the characteristics of pregnant HM consumers, the primary conditions for which HMs are taken, and a discussion related to the potential toxicity of HMs taken during pregnancy. Many cultures have used HMs in pregnancy to improve wellbeing of the mother and/or baby, or to help decrease nausea and vomiting, treat infection, ease gastrointestinal problems, prepare for labor, induce labor, or ease labor pains. One of the reasons why pregnant women use HMs is an assumption that HMs are safer than conventional medicine. However, for pregnant women with pre-existing conditions like epilepsy and asthma, supplementation of conventional treatment with HMs may further complicate their care. The use of HMs is frequently not reported to healthcare professionals. Providers are often not questioning HM use, despite little being known about the HM safety and HM-drug interactions during pregnancy. This lack of knowledge on potential toxicity and the ability to interact with conventional treatments may impact both mother and fetus. There is a need for education of women and their healthcare professionals to move away from the idea of HMs not being harmful. Healthcare professionals need to question women on whether they use any HMs or natural products during pregnancy, especially when conventional treatment is less efficient and/or adverse events have occurred as herbaldrug interactions could be the reason for these observations. Additionally, more preclinical and clinical studies are needed to evaluate HM efficacy and toxicity.

Traditional and complementary medicine for promoting healthy ageing in WHO Western Pacific Region: Policy implications from utilization patterns and current evidence

“…100 Finally, successful integration of herbal medicine services requires collaboration between conventional and T&CM clinicians, as well as pharmacists. 101 Herbal medicine education for conventional medicine clinicians and pharmacists are found to be effective in promoting their confidence in communicating with patients about the use of herbal medicines and supplements. 102 , 103 Effective curriculum can be adapted and promoted in Universities across Western Pacific Region.…”

Developmental toxicity of Clerodendrum cyrtophyllum turcz ethanol extract in zebrafish embryo

“…Women are the primary consumers of traditional medicines, and usually continue using them during pregnancy. Pregnant women usually use tradtional medicines as a safe and natural alternative to conventional drugs and often use them to improve their wellbeing or for the treatment of non-life threating conditions (Illamola et al, 2019). However, data on the safety of these herbal treatments during pregnancy are generally insufficient.…”

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Threatened Miscarriage: Advantages and Risks

“…e prevalence of herbal medicine use by pregnant women ranges between 7% and 79.9% depending on different geographic, social, cultural, and ethnic factors [21,22,25,26]. CHM has a history of about 5000 years, and it has become one of the main therapies in East Asia and has spread to western countries.…”

“…e women in the reviewed studies assumed that CAM can promote maternal and fetal health, enhance the efficacy of western medicines, and relieve specific pregnancy-related conditions, but there is poor evidence to support such effects of CAM. In line with this, a series of studies have been performed regarding the safety of CAM for pregnant women [17,[21][22][23]. To date, several studies have reported on women who have had successful pregnancies after threatened miscarriage when being treated with CAM, mainly including Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), acupuncture, nutritional supplements, and psychological interventions [8,10,11,24].…”