Factors influencing the use of herbal medications during pregnancy at Public Health Center, Indonesia

INTRODUCTION: There has been an increase in the usage of herbal remedies, particularly among pregnant women, across the globe. The prevalence of herbal medicine use during pregnancy ranged from 54.3% to 96.6% in the region studied, indicating a rising trend in the use of herbal medicine during pregnancy. Cold and flu symptoms and stomach problems were the most prevalent reasons people turned to this drug.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study's samples were pregnant women in the working area of Ciwaruga Public Health Center, which has eight villages. The samples were taken using a proportional simple random sampling technique until 96 respondents were obtained. The percentage of moms who took herbal medication was the primary outcome variable, and participants were chosen for the research using a systematic sampling procedure. A digital database was used to store quantitative data that had been coded.

RESULTS: The factors significantly associated with the use of herbal medicines during pregnancy were perception (OR 2.18; CI 1.02-4.66), having ever used herbal medicines during a previous pregnancy (OR 3.87; CI 1.46-10.25), and healthy reproductive is other reasons (OR 7.98; CI 4.45-14.30).

CONCLUSION: Pregnant women in the Ciwaruga Public Health Center area often turn to herbal remedies, which may indicate a lack of access to mainstream medical treatment. They believe that herbal medications are useful and that using them during a prior pregnancy is linked.