Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Utilization and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Shashamane Town, Southern Ethiopia, 2020;Challenge to Health Care Service Delivery

Introduction: Despite the fact that knowledge of potential side effects of many herbal medicines in pregnancy is limited and that some herbal products may be teratogenic, data on the extent of use of herbal medicines by women during pregnancy in the study setting is unknown. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of herbal medicine utilization and associated factors among pregnant women in Shashamane town, southern Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 358 pregnant women in, shashamane town, southern Ethiopia from august 1-30/2020. Data was collected using semi structured interviewer administered questionnaire, entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. P-value < 0.05, at 95% confidence interval was considered as cut off point to declare the presence of statistically significant association. Result: This study revealed that prevalence of herbal medicine utilization during current pregnancy was 16.8%% (95% CI: 13.5-19.3). Counselling about the risk of herbal medicine during antenatal care follow up (AOR=2.51, 95% CI: 1.08-5.84), history of health problem during their current pregnancy (AOR=2.34, 95% CI: 1.56-3.18), and previous experience (AOR=4.50, 95% CI: 3.67-9.46) were significantly associated with utilization of herbal medicine during pregnancy. Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of herbal medicine utilization during pregnancy was found to be low compared to most of the previous studies conducted in Ethiopia. Therefore it is necessary to provide adequate counseling for all pregnant women attending antenatal care regarding the risks associated with herbal drug use on mother and fetus.