Volume 202, Issue 5 , Pages 443.e1-443.e6, May 2010
Herbal use before and during pregnancy
Objective
We estimated the prevalence and patterns of herbal use among US women before and during pregnancy.
Study Design
The National Birth Defects Prevention Study is an ongoing, population-based, case-control study. This analysis included 4239 women from 10 centers in the United States who delivered infants without major birth defects from 1998–2004.
Results
The prevalence of reported herbal use 3 months before or during pregnancy was 10.9%. During pregnancy, prevalence was 9.4% and was highest in the first trimester. Higher prevalence was associated with age greater than 30 years and education greater than 12 years. Use varied considerably by state (5–17%). Ginger and ephedra were the most commonly reported products early in pregnancy; teas and chamomile were most commonly reported throughout pregnancy.
Conclusion
Potentially 395,000 US births annually involve antenatal exposure to herbal products. Health care providers should inquire routinely about herbal use and educate patients about what little is known regarding risks of these products.
Key words: drug safety, ephedra, herbal preparation, pregnancy
This study was supported in part by cooperative agreements under Program Announcement 02081 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the centers participating in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, listed in the Acknowledgments section of the full-length article at www.AJOG.org.
The findings are conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cite this article as: Broussard CS, Louik C, Honein MA, et al. Herbal use before and during pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010;202:443.e1-6.
PII: S0002-9378(09)02003-1
doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2009.10.865
Published by Elsevier Inc.
Volume 202, Issue 5 , Pages 443.e1-443.e6, May 2010
