Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Dec 19;17(1):543.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-2052-1.

Pregnancy, prescription medicines and the potential risk of herb-drug interactions: a cross-sectional survey

James S McLay  1 , Naila Izzati  2 , Abdul R Pallivalapila  3 , Ashalatha Shetty  4 , Binita Pande  5 , Craig Rore  6 , Moza Al Hail  3 , Derek Stewart  7
Affiliations

Pregnancy, prescription medicines and the potential risk of herb-drug interactions: a cross-sectional survey

James S McLay et al. BMC Complement Altern Med. .

Abstract

Background: Pregnant women are routinely prescribed medicines while self-medicating with herbal natural products to treat predominantly pregnancy related conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the potential for herb-drug interactions (HDIs) in pregnant women and to explore possible herb-drug interactions and their potential clinical significance.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of women during early pregnancy or immediately postpartum in North-East Scotland. Outcome measures included; Prescription medicines use excluding vitamins and potential HDIs assessed using Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.

Results: The survey was completed by 889 respondents (73% response rate). 45.3% (403) reported the use of at least one prescription medicine, excluding vitamins. Of those taking prescription medicines, 44.9% (181) also reported concurrent use of at least one HNP (Range 1-12). A total of 91 different prescription medicines were reported by respondents using HNPs. Of those taking prescription medicines, 44.9% (181) also reported concurrent use of at least one HNP (Range 1-12). Thirty-four herb-drug interactions were identified in 23 (12.7%) women with the potential to increase the risk of postpartum haemorrhage, alter maternal haemodynamics, and enhance maternal/fetal CNS depression. Almost all were rated as moderate (93.9%), one as a potentially major (ginger and nifedipine) and only one minor (ondansetron and chamomile).

Conclusion: Almost half of pregnant women in this study were prescribed medicines excluding vitamins and minerals and almost half of these used HNPs. Potential moderate to severe HDIs were identified in an eighth of the study cohort. Healthcare professionals should be aware that the concurrent use of HNPs and prescription medicines during pregnancy is common and carries potential risks.

Keywords: Antenatal; Botanical; Female; Herb-drug interaction; Herbal; Postnatal; Pregnancy; Surveys and questionnaires.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This research was approved by National Health Service North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee and National Health Service Grampian Research and Development Committee on June 27, 2011 (REC 11/ AL/0094). As the Ethics Committee required the survey questionnaires to be fully anonymous and returned directly by respondents in post-paid envelopes with no record of identifiable data, written consent to participate was deemed unnecessary.

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Posadzki P, Watson LK, Alotaibi A, Ernst E. Prevalence of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by patients/consumers in the UK: systematic review of surveys. Clin Med. 2013;13(2):126–131. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.13-2-126. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007. Natl Health Stat Report; Hyattsville, MD: 2008. Natl Health Stat Report; no 12. - PubMed
    1. Clarke TC, Black LI, Stussman BJ, Barnes PM, Nahin RL. Trends in the use of complementary health approaches among adults: United States, 2002–2012. Natl Health Stat Report. 2015;10(79):1. - PMC - PubMed
    1. AARP NCCAM. Complementary and alternative medicine: what people aged 50 and older discuss with their health care providers. Consumer Survey Report. 2011, pp. 1–14
    1. Eardley S, Bishop FL, Prescott P, Cardini F, Brinkhaus B, Santos-Rey K, et al. A systematic literature review of complementary and alternative medicine prevalence in EU. Forsch Komplementmed. 2012;19(Suppl 2):18–28. - PubMed