Knowledge of herbal medicines among pregnant women attending some antenatal clinics in Eastern Nigeria

BACKGROUND: There are no studies assessing the knowledge of herbal medicines among pregnant women in Eastern Nigeria despite a universal increase in herbal medicines used by this population who usually are at risk from their adverse effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge of herbal medicines among expectant mothers in Eastern Nigeria in order to estimate any need for education on the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicines use in pregnancy. METHODS: A cross-sectional and descriptive method was adopted, and data were collected with a validated questionnaire between June and August 2018 in three health facilities in Nsukka among pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics. A total of 300 participants were conveniently sampled. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 23. For statistical significance, P < 0.05. RESULTS: Out of the 300 respondents who gave their consent, 93.3% were married, 89.9% were within the age range of 18–34 years old, and 82.8% of them had postprimary education. The mean percentage knowledge score of herbal medicine was 63.196%. More than half of the women scored below the mean score and were considered to have poor knowledge (57.9%). The respondents' sociodemographics had a nonsignificant statistical relationship with the level of knowledge of herbal medicines (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the pregnant women assessed in this study had poor knowledge of herbal medicine and no association with their sociodemographic characteristics was observed.