Factors Associated with the Use of Herbal Medicine among Pregnant Women in the Nkwanta North and South Districts of Oti Region, Ghana.

Abstract

Introduction: Herbs have been used as an alternate form of treatment amidst the advent of orthodox therapies for health care. Herbs have been used as wellspring of potent remedies and have become an intrinsic part of various autochthonous cultures around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about eighty percent (80%) of rural populations residing in developing countries rely on herbal medicines for their health needs including its use during pregnancy. Studies carried out on herbal medicine utilization in pregnancy across different parts of the world show varying prevalence of herbal medicine consumption during pregnancy. Objectives: The main objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of herbal medicine use and the factors associated with usage among pregnant women in the Nkwanta North and South Districts of Oti Region, Ghana. Methods: This current study was conducted in two districts; Nkwanta North and Nkwanta South in the Oti Region. This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data collection was done through one and one interview using a semi-structured questionnaire on 433 pregnant women. It was done simultaneously in selected districts during ANC visit to Child Welfare Clinic (CWCs) days. In determining the association between pregnant women’s herbal medicine consumption and other independent variables a chi-square test was used. Logistic regressions, thus adjusted and unadjusted logistics which establishes the strength of associations were used to determine factors associated with the use of herbal medicine among pregnant women. STATA 15 was used for analysis. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant at confidence interval of 95%. Result: The study found that slightly more than half (51.5%) of the pregnant women were aged 20-29 years and majority (88.7%) of the pregnant women were married and 9.5% were single. Most (72.8%) of the pregnant women had no formal education. The study found that (70%) of the pregnant women have ever used herbal medicine and slightly (61.4%) of pregnant women were using herbal medicine at the time of data collection. The Chi-square test established the significant association between religion and use of herbal medicine (p= 0.001). There was a significant association between parity and use of herbal medicine (p=0.014). Conclusion: The herbal medicine use amongst pregnant women in the Nkwanta North and South Districts of Oti Region, Ghana was high (61.4%), Six out of every 10 pregnant women used herbal medicine when pregnant. The unknown safe state of the herbal medicine makes its use life-threatening to the pregnant women and the unborn baby. The district health directorate together with the health staffs especially midwives and nurses should intensify education pertaining to the effect of herbal medicine use during pregnancy.

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MPH.

Keywords

Herbs, Health Care, World Health Organization (WHO), Pregnancy, Oti Region

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