Women's Use and Self-Prescription of Herbal Medicine during Pregnancy: An Examination of 1,835 Pregnant Women

Frawley, Jane; Adams, Jon; Steel, Amie; Broom, Alex; Gallois, Cindy; Sibbritt, David

doi:10.1016/j.whi.2015.03.001

Cited by 59 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Most participants in this study had high levels of functional health literacy, as shown by the Newest Vital Sign results and single item health literacy measure . The demographic profile of the participants, especially their high education and income levels, also reflects what has been previously shown about typical Australian women who use CMPs in pregnancy and lactation . Most participants demonstrated sophisticated analytic skills during their decision‐making processes and showed high communicative and critical health literacy skills in the questions they posed and sought to answer.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…This study does not represent the full range of health literacy levels and further research on CMP use with lower health literacy samples is needed, especially considering that qualitative research cannot be generalized outside the study sample. However, this limitation can also be considered a strength of the study, as the demographics of the study sample reflect the typical Australian woman who uses CMPs in pregnancy or breastfeeding . Investigating CMP use in a sample of pregnant of breastfeeding women with high health literacy and education levels has enabled deep insights into the decision‐making processes of these women who use CMPs in pregnancy and lactation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Self‐prescription of complementary medicine products (CMPs) is common with some women perceiving CMPs to be safer to use in pregnancy and lactation than pharmaceutical medications . Women also often take vitamin and mineral supplements due to the belief that supplementation will ensure they meet the additional nutritional requirements of pregnancy and lactation .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women’s health literacy and the complex decision‐making process to use complementary medicine products in pregnancy and lactation

Barnes

Barclay

McCaffery

et al. 2019

Health Expectations

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BackgroundLittle is known about women's decision‐making processes regarding using complementary medicine products (CMPs) during pregnancy or lactation.ObjectivesTo explore the decision‐making processes of women choosing to use CMPs in pregnancy and lactation; and to investigate how women's health literacy influences their decisions.Design, setting and participantsIn‐depth interviews and focus group discussions were held with twenty‐five pregnant and/or breastfeeding women. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsKey to women's decision making was the desire to establish a CMPs safety and to receive information from a trustworthy source, preferably their most trusted health‐care practitioner. Women wanted positive therapeutic relationships with health‐care practitioners and to be highly involved in the decisions they made for the health of themselves and their children. Two overarching components of the decision‐making process were identified: (a) women's information needs and (b) a preference for CMP use. Women collated and assessed information from other health‐care practitioners, other mothers and published research during their decision‐making processes. They showed a strong preference for CMP use to support their pregnancy and breastfeeding health, and that of their unborn and breastfeeding babies.Discussion and ConclusionsComplex decision‐making processes to use CMPs in pregnancy and lactation were identified. The participants showed high levels of communicative and critical health literacy skills in their decision‐making processes. These skills supported women's complex decision‐making processes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Women’s health literacy and the complex decision‐making process to use complementary medicine products in pregnancy and lactation

Barnes

Barclay

McCaffery

et al. 2019

Health Expectations

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“…Women are also using CAM therapies that may be contraindicated for pregnancy, especially if used in conjunction with conventional medicines (Dante, Pedrielli, Annessi, & Facchinetti, 2013; Frawley et al, 2015; Holst, Wright, Haavik, & Nordeng, 2011). Understanding patterns of CAM use during pregnancy can also have implications for healthcare costs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States

Johnson

Kozhimannil

Jou

et al. 2016

Women's Health Issues

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Background The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, types of CAM used, and reasons for CAM use among reproductive-age women in the United States (US). Methods Data are from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). We examined a nationally representative sample of US women ages 18–44 (n=5,764 respondents). Primary outcomes were past year CAM use, reasons for CAM use, and conditions treated with CAM by pregnancy status (currently pregnant, gave birth in past year, neither). Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of CAM use by pregnancy status. Findings Overall, 67% of reproductive-age US women reported using any CAM in the past year. Excluding vitamins, 42% reported using CAM. Significant differences in use of biologic-based (P=0.03) and mind-body therapies (P=0.012) by pregnancy status were found. Back pain (17.1%), neck pain (7.7%), and anxiety (3.7%) were the most commonly reported conditions treated with CAM among reproductive-age women. However, 20% of pregnant and postpartum women used CAM for pregnancy-related reasons, making pregnancy the most common reason for CAM use among pregnant and postpartum women . Conclusions CAM use during the childbearing year is prevalent, with one-fifth of currently or recently pregnant women reporting CAM use for pregnancy-related reasons. Policymakers should consider how public resources may be used to support appropriate, effective use of alternative approaches to managing health during pregnancy and postpartum. Providers should be aware of the changing needs and personal health practices of reproductive age women.

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“…Previous work estimates CAM expenditure in the Australian general population as AUD$4.13 billion [9] with mid-age women spending AUD$349 annually per capita on self-prescribed CAM [23]. Recent research has identified high CAM use by Australian women for pregnancy-related health conditions [3, 24] including the high rate of self-prescription of herbal medicine [12]. Our data provides the first differential breakdown of expenditure on both CAM products and practitioners and as such adds context to our understanding of CAM use in Australia and its perceived importance and value amongst the Australian population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substantial out-of-pocket expenditure on maternity care practitioner consultations and treatments during pregnancy: estimates from a nationally-representative sample of pregnant women in Australia

Adams¹,

Steel²,

Frawley³

et al. 2017

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

Self Cite

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BackgroundA wide range of health care options are utilised by pregnant women in Australia. The out-of-pocket costs of maternity care in Australia vary depending on many factors including model of care utilised, health insurance coverage, and women’s decision to access health services outside of conventional maternity care provision.MethodsWomen from the 1973–78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) who identified as pregnant or as recently having given birth in 2009 were invited to complete a sub-study questionnaire investigating health service utilisation during their most recent pregnancy.ResultsA total of 1,835 women agreed to participate in the sub-study. The majority of women (99.8%) consulted with a conventional health care practitioner during pregnancy, 49.4% consulted with a complementary and alternative medicine practitioner at least once during pregnancy and 89.6% of the women used a complementary and alternative medicine product. Women reported an average of AUD$781.10 in out-of-pocket expenses for consultations with conventional health care practitioners, AUD$185.40 in out-of-pocket expenses for consultations with complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and AUD$179.60 in out-of-pocket expenses for complementary and alternative medicine products. From the study data we estimate Australian pregnant women spend over AUD$337 M on out-of-pocket health services.ConclusionWhile the majority of pregnant women in Australia may obtain health services via the publically-funded health care system and/or private health insurance coverage, our analysis identifies substantial out-of-pocket expenditure for health care by pregnant women – a trend in public spending for maternity care of importance to policy makers, health administrators, and health professionals.

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Women's Use and Self-Prescription of Herbal Medicine during Pregnancy: An Examination of 1,835 Pregnant Women

Cited by 59 publications

References 42 publications

Women’s health literacy and the complex decision‐making process to use complementary medicine products in pregnancy and lactation

Women’s health literacy and the complex decision‐making process to use complementary medicine products in pregnancy and lactation

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States

Substantial out-of-pocket expenditure on maternity care practitioner consultations and treatments during pregnancy: estimates from a nationally-representative sample of pregnant women in Australia

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