Abstract:

Background: Among the traditional medicine practices, herbal medicines are claimed to have therapeutic benefits and is the most popular and used by the general population as well as pregnant women around the globe. Pregnant and lactating women are especially prone to adverse effects from herbal medicines as the safety profiles and appropriate dosages of most of herbal medicines are not well studied in this group of population. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors influencing the use of traditional herbal medicines among women attending ANC at Sengerema DDH, Mwanza-Tanzania.

Methodology: This was a cross sectional study which was conducted using self-administered structured questionnaire involving 272 pregnant women who were attending ANC at Sengerema DDH. Data were analysed by using SPSS version 20.

Results: A total of 272 women were involved in the study. The majority of participants were from age group 20-20 years. The prevalence of herb use was found to be 40.5%. The use of herbs was significantly associated with the use during previous deliveries (p = 0.000). Factors associated with herbal medication use was easy accessibility, cheap and to treat abdominal pain.

Conclusion: The use of herbal medicine during pregnancy is a common practice and associated with rural residency, illiteracy and low average monthly income. Pregnant women depend mainly on family, friends and relatives as a source of information about herbal medicines. Given the high frequency of herbal medicine, health care providers should be open to diseases the use of herbal medicines with their pregnant women as it will lead to better health outcome.