Abstract:

Background: The use of herbs during pregnancy and labour is rapidly increasing globally. Herbal medicine is widely used because it is perceived as safe for those who perceive nature to be healing and since it is naturally derived hence always safe. Despite the belief lack of scientific knowledge on its effects on mother and her child suggests a high probability of adverse effects. Little is known about use of herbal medicine among pregnancy. This study aimed to determine the use and factors associated with the use of herbs during pregnancy among women in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that involved pregnant women who attended clinic at Makongoro health clinic in Mwanza region, north-western Tanzania. Interviewer administered questionnaire, data collected using structured closed and open end questions, participants were obtained using a convenient sampling technique. Women were asked to volunteer to give information about their herbal use in their index and past pregnancies. Collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20 program.

Results: A total of 375 women with the mean age of 26 participated in the study. The prevalence of herb use was found to be 46.1%. 42.6% of these women used herbs in their past pregnancies and 35.2% used herbs in their index pregnancy. The use of herbs was significantly associated with the use in previous pregnancies (p = 0.000). The most reported herb used was mishana 17.6% whereby only 3.0% used kabindilizi, 2.1% mizizi and 0.8% used majani ya parachichi (avocado leaves).

Conclusion: The study findings signify high prevalence of use of herbal medicine, highly associated with recurrent use and modifiable factors. Efforts should be put in free mass education from community level country wide, health care workers should inquire on herbal use and more resourceful surveys on use of herbal medication among pregnant women as maternal and child health is at stake.