Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Women During Pregnancy and Childbearing Years

Abstract

Objectives: Little is known regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use during pregnancy and the preconception period. Since half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, understanding the patterns of CAM use among women of childbearing age has implications for fetal and maternal health. Methods: Descriptive statistics were generated from the 2012 National Health Interview Study (NHIS) to estimate weighted prevalence and patterns of CAM use by women of childbearing age. Comparisons were made between pregnant and nonpregnant respondents. Results: In this sample of 10,002 women, 7 percent (n = 727) were recently pregnant. Over one-third of all the women used CAM during the previous year (34/38%, pregnant/nonpregnant, respectively) and only half disclosed CAM use to conventional providers (50/49%). In the adjusted model, taking multivitamins (OR 2.52 [CI 2.22-2.86]) and moderate to heavy alcohol use (OR 1.92 [CI 1.53-2.41]) were more likely associated with CAM use. The two most commonly used modalities were herbs (14/17%) and yoga (13/16%). The top reasons for CAM use were to improve general wellness or to prevent disease (33/35%) and to treat back pain (16/18%). When examining all pregnancy-related symptoms treated with CAM, no difference was found in the rates of CAM use between pregnant and nonpregnant users. Conclusions: CAM use by women of childbearing age in the United States is common, with over a third of the population using one or more therapies. However, only half disclosed their use to conventional providers despite limited evidence on safety and effectiveness. This study highlights the important need for further research in this area. (BIRTH 42:3 September 2015)

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Modern Obstetrics: A Survey of the Central Association of Obstetricians & Gynecologists Members

“…18 These mind-body and body based manipulative practices are readily available to the general public and appear to be the most common complementary and alternative medicine modalities used in pregnancy. 19 Several Cochrane reviews support the use of acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, and relaxation techniques to reduce labor pain and increasing satisfaction with pain relief. 5,6…”

Prenatal Yoga for Back Pain, Balance, and Maternal Wellness: A Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study

“…22–27 In the United States, an estimated 13% of pregnant women practice yoga. 28 However, rigorous prospective feasibility, safety, and efficacy data are limited. In the nonpregnant patient population, U.S. studies suggest that yoga is an effective intervention for back pain and overall well-being.…”

The Safety of Mother’s Milk® Tea: Results of a Randomized Double-Blind, Controlled Study in Fully Breastfeeding Mothers and Their Infants

“…This study begins to address the paucity of literature regarding the safety of herbal products that are used during lactation. Despite little data on the subject, it is estimated that between 22 and 45% of women in the United States use herbal products, and this extends to women during pregnancy and lactation (Budzynska et al, 2012;Holden, Gardiner, Birdee, Davis, & Yeh, 2015), with higher rates of use reported in Australia (Sim, Sherriff, Hattingh, Parsons, & Tee, 2013) and Italy (Aleandri et al, 2014). Thus, there is great need for well-designed studies to measure safety and efficacy of various herbal products.…”