Panganai Tsitsi, Shumba Precious
Zimbabwe Open University, Nursing Sciences, Zimbabwe.
Bsc Nursing, RGN SCM Claybank Hospital, Zimbabwe.
Pan Afr Med J. 2016 Sep 19;25:9. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2016.25.9.7876. eCollection 2016.
The use of natural health products is gradually increasing all over the world with up to 50% of the general population having tried at least one herbal product. This becomes a dilemma to the midwife who has limited or no knowledge on their effects in pregnancy, hence the need to explore the perceptions of women on the use herbs in pregnancy and labour.
The research, which was a case study of a Claybank Private Hospital in Gweru, Zimbabwe, adopted a qualitative approach with a triangulation of data from interviews, observations and analysis of maternal records. A sample of 20 women, admitted to using herbs, was purposively selected from the labour and post natal wards.
A variety of substances, but mainly the elephant's dung, was used. The family, (mother) prescribed the herbs. The women did not have knowledge on how the substances work but believed in them, as they have stood the test of time.
The African women in Zimbabwe cannot be stopped from taking herbs as it is engraved in their culture and have absolute faith in them. Whilst the herbs are assumed by the women to be effective, their safety is questionable, especially in women with underlying obstetric complications. It is therefore recommended to scientifically explore the safety and effectiveness of the most commonly used herbs if pregnancy is to be safe. Whilst the women can not be stopped from taking these herbs, it is important to build a trusting relationship between the midwife and the mother so that communication about the use of herbs can be done freely without fear or judgement.
天然健康产品在全球的使用正逐渐增加，多达50%的普通人群至少尝试过一种草药产品。这给助产士带来了难题，因为她们对这些产品在孕期的影响了解有限或一无所知，因此有必要探究女性对孕期和分娩时使用草药的看法。
该研究以津巴布韦圭鲁的克莱班克私立医院为例，采用定性研究方法，通过访谈、观察和分析产妇记录对数据进行三角测量。从产房和产后病房有目的地选取了20名承认使用过草药 的女性作为样本。
使用了多种物质，但主要是大象粪便。草药由家人（母亲）开出处方。这些女性不知道这些物质如何起作用，但因为它们经受住了时间的考验而相信它们。
津巴布韦的非洲女性服用草药的行为无法被阻止，因为这已深深融入她们的文化，并且她们对草药深信不疑。虽然这些女性认为草药有效，但其安全性存疑，尤其是对有潜在产科并发症的女性。因此，如果要确保孕期安全，建议科学探究最常用草药的安全性和有效性。虽然无法阻止女性服用这些草药，但助产士与产妇建立信任关系很重要，这样就能在毫无恐惧或顾虑的情况下自由交流草药的使用情况。
