Table 5 Patterns of herbal medicine use during pregnancy
From: Herbal medicine use by pregnant women in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study
Variables | Number (%) |
|---|---|
Recommending source (N = 170) – multiple choice | |
 Family/friends/neighbor | 121 (71.1) |
 Herbalist | 48 (28.2) |
 Islamic/religious text | 42 (24.7) |
 Midwife/health worker | 34 (20.0) |
 Newspaper/magazine | 16 (9.4) |
 TV/radio/internet | 10 (5.9) |
 Doctor | 9 (5.3) |
Frequency of use (N = 170) | |
 Occasionally | 92 (54.1) |
 Daily | 64 (37.6) |
 Weekly | 7 (4.1) |
 Twice or more a week | 5 (2.9) |
 Only once | 2 (1.2) |
Disclosed with doctor or midwife (N = 170) | |
 Yes | 43 (25.3) |
 No | 127 (74.7) |
Reason of non-disclosure (N = 125) | |
 Should have informed but forgot | 65 (52.0) |
 Doctor did not ask | 39 (31.2) |
 Afraid of doctor’s response | 12 (9.6) |
 It was not important | 9 (7.2) |
Reason for using herbal medicines (N = 169) – multiple choice | |
 It is cheap and accessible | 159 (94.1) |
 I believe it is safe | 116 (68.6) |
 I believe it is effective | 22 (13.0) |
 Family tradition/culture | 10 (5.9) |
 Unsatisfied with modern medicine | 4 (2.4) |
Reason for not using herbal medicines (N = 73) – multiple choice | |
 My family did not let me use | 45 (64.1) |
 My doctor/midwife did not let me use | 39 (53.4) |
 It is not effective | 15 (20.5) |
 I am satisfied with modern medicine | 10 (13.7) |