Use of herbal, complementary and alternative medicines among pregnant women in Makoni District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Use of herbal, complementary and alternative medicines during pregnancy, labour and delivery is common in Zimbabwe. This study aimed at documenting herbal, complementary and alternative medicines used during pregnancy in Makoni District in Zimbabwe. Snowballing was used to select 66 participants which included herbalists (45.5%), traditional birth attendants (18.2%), traditional healers (15.2%), and assistant traditional healers and herbal medicine vendors (10.6% each). Pregnant women in the study areaused a total of 47 plant species from 27 families, and 14 non-plant products as herbal, complementary and alternative medicines by. A total of 26 medical cases were treated with the majority of medicinal plants and non-plant products,used to dilate or widen the birth canal (55.3%) and to augment labour or speed up the delivery process (46.8%). This study showed that herbal, complementary and alternative medicines play an important role in the provision of basic health care in Zimbabwe.