PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF HERBAL MEDICINES AMONG WOMEN RECEIVING ANTENATAL CARE IN HOSPITALS- MUMBAI, INDIA
The use of herbal medicines in pregnancy has increased in recent years despite the advancement observed in conventional treatments. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of herbal medicine usage, identify the indications for use and determine the factors associated with the use of herbs, among women receiving anten atal care in two hospitals in Mumbai, India. This was a cross-sectional study involving 202 women of all gestational age in two hospitals selected randomly from a list of hospitals and maternity homes available in western Mumbai. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents by lottery method. Data was collected by face-to-face interview using a pretested questionnaire, for a 2 -week period between September and October 2015. The prevalence and indications for herbal medicine usage in pregnancy were determined. The factors associated with herbal medicine use during pregnancy were examined using odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Logistic regression analysis was used to control for confounding factors. The herbal medicine usage in current pregnancy was 46.0% (95% CI= 39.1-52.9). Among herbal medicine users, 98.9% used herbs to maintain wellness and 24.7% used for pregnancy-related symptoms. In multivariate analysis, women with gestational age ≥ 27 weeks (AOR= 1.912, CI= 1.029-3.554) and monthly household income ≥ ₹ 20,000 (AOR= 2.766, CI= 1.505-5.083) were significantly associated with herbal medicine use. There was a high prevalence of herbal medicine usage among the respondents in the study area that emphasis the need of health promotion and education on proper usage of herbal medicines especially during pregnancy.