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
. 2019 Mar 15;19(1):65.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-019-2476-x.

'We are nothing without herbs': a story of herbal remedies use during pregnancy in rural Ghana

Prince Peprah  1 , Williams Agyemang-Duah  2 , Francis Arthur-Holmes  3 , Hayford Isaac Budu  4 , Emmanuel Mawuli Abalo  5 , Reforce Okwei  6 , Julius Nyonyo  6
Affiliations

'We are nothing without herbs': a story of herbal remedies use during pregnancy in rural Ghana

Prince Peprah et al. BMC Complement Altern Med. .

Abstract

Background: Herbal medicine has become the panacea for many rural pregnant women in Ghana despite the modern western antenatal care which has developed in most parts of the country. To our knowledge, previous studies investigating herbal medicine use have primarily reported general attitudes and perceptions of use, overlooking the standpoint of pregnant women and their attitudes, and utilisation of herbal medicine in Ghana. Knowledge of herbal medicine use among rural pregnant women and the potential side effects of many herbs in pregnancy are therefore limited in the country; this qualitative study attempts to address this gap by exploring the perceptions of herbal medicine usage among pregnant women in rural Ghana.

Methods: A sample of 30, conveniently selected pregnant women, were involved in this study from April 11 to June 22, 2017. Data from three different focus group discussions were thematically analysed and presented based on an a posteriori inductive reduction approach.

Results: The main findings were that pregnant women used herbal medicine, most commonly ginger, peppermint, thyme, chamomile, aniseeds, green tea, tealeaf, raspberry, and echinacea leaf consistently throughout the three trimesters of pregnancy. Cultural norms and health beliefs in the form of personal philosophies, desire to manage one's own health, illness perceptions, and a holistic healing approach were ascribed to the widespread use of herbs.

Conclusion: We recommend public education and awareness on disclosure of herbal medicine use to medical practitioners among pregnant women.

Keywords: Biologically-based products; Birim South District; Holistic treatment; Pregnant women; Rural Ghana; Traditional medicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was exempted by Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee according to the Standard Operating Procedures 2015. Informed consent was obtained from the participants by agreeing orally to participate in the study as most could not read nor write. As the dignity, safety and wellbeing of the interviewees were a matter of primary concern to the researchers, participation in the study was strictly voluntary, and no identifying or sensitive information were recorded.

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.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Visual presentation of the CSB process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lindzon G, Sadry S, Sharp J. Toronto notes for medical students. 27. Canada: Type & Graphics Inc; 2011. Obstetric.
    1. Lisha J, Nisha S. Herbal medicine use during pregnancy: a critical review from the Middle East. Oman Med J. 2015;30:229–236. doi: 10.5001/omj.2015.48. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Frawley J, Adams J, Steel A, Broom A, Gallois C, Sibbritt D. Women’s use and self-prescription of herbal medicine during pregnancy: an examination of 1,835 pregnant women. Womens Health Issues. 2015;25:396–402. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2015.03.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adams J, Sibbritt D, Easthope G, Young A. The profile of women who consult alternative health practitioners in Australia. Med J Aust. 2003;179:297–300. - PubMed
    1. Sibbritt D, Adams J, Lui CW. Health service utilisation by pregnant women over a seven-year period. Midwifery. 2011;27:474–476. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2010.03.005. - DOI - PubMed

Substances