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. 2025 Aug 8;25(1):301.
doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-05008-4.

Herbal products use during pregnancy and postpartum: study of consumption and user profile in Catalonia

Noelia G Romero  1   2 , Elisabet Teixido  1   2 , Laia Guardia-Escote  1   2 , Anna Tresserra  2   3 , Salvador Cañigueral  4 , Marta Barenys  5   6
Affiliations

Herbal products use during pregnancy and postpartum: study of consumption and user profile in Catalonia

Noelia G Romero et al. BMC Complement Med Ther. .

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of herbal products (HPs) consumption among pregnant and postpartum women, the factors driving their use or the main sources of recommendation have never been studied in Spain or Catalonia. Investigating its prevalence of use during critical phases of development is crucial for providing guidance to health professionals.

Methods: A validated questionnaire, containing general data on socio-demographic status, lifestyle, maternal health data and its association with HP consumption, was performed in online personal interviews among women living in Catalonia between pregnancy week 22 and postpartum month 9.

Results: We identified a higher percentage of HPs consumption compared to other European countries, while the 5 most consumed products were similar to the products described to be consumed by pregnant women in other countries. The most frequently consumed HPs were ginger (28%), chamomile (9%), thyme (7%), rooibos (6%), cranberry (4%), and raspberry leaf (4%), and we identified specific temporal patterns of consumption for several of them, depending on the trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore, we found a significant relationship between women consuming oral HPs and the opinion that "pregnant women should preferably consume herbal remedies rather than conventional medicines".

Conclusions: We provide evidence that women consuming HPs during pregnancy are not defined by a specific profile and therefore, healthcare professionals should be aware that any woman could potentially consume HPs during this period.

Keywords: Consumption; Herbal medicine; Interviews; Prenatal and postpartum health; Traditional use.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Given that the research plan involved collecting information from human subjects through personal interviews, approval was obtained from the Bioethics Committee of the University of Barcelona (approved by the Institutional Review Board, code: IRB00003099) on March 30th, 2020. Informed consent was requested from each participant, ensuring their freedom to decide whether or not to take part in the study, as well as to withdraw at any point if they so wished. To protect the privacy of participants and ensure data confidentiality, no names or personally identifiable information were disclosed. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles set forth in the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Clinical trial number: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Profile of women interviewed (n = 102). (A) Women pregnant or postpartum at time of interview (%). (B) Months (and weeks) of gestation of pregnant women at the time of the interview (%). (C) Months postpartum of women at the time of the interview (%). (D) Average age of women who were pregnant or postpartum at the time of the interview (between 21 and 44 years). (E) Women respondents who reported the number of children they had before this pregnancy (%). (F) Employment status of interviewees at the moment of getting pregnant (%). (G) Highest level of education completed by the respondents (%)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Results of consumption of HPs among the interviewees. Results of consumption during pregnancy and/or postpartum. Black percentages are calculated based on the number of interviewees included in the group at the arrow origin (specific N indicated in gray), blue percentages are calculated based on total respondents (N = 102). HP: herbal product
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Prevalence of the six most consumed HPs by interviewed women who consumed oral HPs according to period of consumption: 1st, 2nd, 3rd trimester of pregnancy and postpartum (women who have had a child for at most 9 months). (Results presented in percentage of women consuming each of the six most consumed HPs for each trimester and postpartum out of the total number of women consuming HPs orally, independently on the duration of consumption). The lines connecting the data points are for visual representation purposes only and do not imply any predictions or trends in the data
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