The Use of Home Remedies by Pregnant Mothers as a Treatment of Pregnancy Related Complaints: An Exploratory Study

Data related to the use of home remedies as a treatment of pregnancy related complaints are scarce in the communities. There is very limited information regarding herbal medicines practice during pregnancy among Jordanian mothers. The aim of this study is to assess the magnitude of this practice. Therefore develop strategies to improve health related practices.A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to determine the use of home remedies during pregnancy among Jordanian women. A convenient sample of 332 Jordanian pregnant women attending the MCH centers (antenatal clinic for follow-up) in Amman city; capital of Jordan, were interviewed by a semi-structured questionnaire in the period from October 2009 to January 2010. About three quarter of the participants (73.8%) have used home remedies because they considered it better than medications. The majority of users (90.2%) perceived that the effect of home remedies on their pregnancy complaints was total improvement. Fluid herbal remedies are the most common used, more than sixty one percentage of the participants reported the source of information was the mother and mother-in-low. The use of home remedies had no significant relationship with mother’s age, educational level, and job status of participants as well as family size. The majority of the participants in the study used home remedies during pregnancy as part of their traditional practices. As there is very limited information about the safe use of home remedies; the mothers need education to avoid the use of home remedies during pregnancy. The study recommended the need to include safety information about the use of home remedies by obstetrician and maternity nurses as a routine during antenatal assessment.