Department of Biology, Institute of Botany, Faculty of Science, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany.
University of Kimpa Vita, Province of Uíge, Rua Henrique Freitas No. 1, Bairro Popular, Uíge, Angola.
Int Breastfeed J. 2020 Oct 23;15(1):88. doi: 10.1186/s13006-020-00329-1.
Angola has one of the highest annual under-five mortality rates in in the world and malnutrition poses a severe problem in the country. This study is the first to focus on the traditional knowledge of plants, foods, and treatments used by the local population in the province of Uíge to affect the quality and quantity of human breast milk, since decades of independence and civil war impeded ethnobotanical studies in this area.
This study was conducted in eight municipalities in the province of Uíge, Northern Angola in February and March 2018. In 265 semi-structured interviews, 360 informants in 40 rural villages were asked about plants, food, and treatments used to affect the quality and quantity of human breast milk. Additionally, information on child mortality and the duration of breastfeeding were collected. Whenever possible, plant specimens were collected for later identification. To determine the local importance of the collected plants, food, and treatments, the Relative Frequency of Citations was calculated.
Most women reported to have no problems with their breast milk production. The duration of breastfeeding meets the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). Across all use categories, 69 plants from 36 plant families, and 21 other foods and treatments could be identified.
The study shows an overview of a variety of plants, foods, and treatments used by mothers as galactagogues, to "clean" or to reduce their breast milk and those which they avoided to use during the lactation period. There is great potential for further research into this traditional knowledge. Also, further analysis of some of the plants could be of interest.
安哥拉是全球五岁以下儿童死亡率最高的国家之一，营养不良是该国面临的严重问题。本研究首次关注安哥拉威热省当地居民使用植物、食物和疗法来影响人乳质量和数量的传统知识，因为几十年来的独立和内战阻碍了该地区的民族植物学研究。
本研究于 2018 年 2 月至 3 月在安哥拉北部威热省的 8 个市进行。在 265 次半结构化访谈中，对 40 个农村村庄的 360 名受访者询问了用于影响人乳质量和数量的植物、食物和疗法。此外，还收集了有关儿童死亡率和母乳喂养持续时间的信息。只要有可能，就收集植物标本以便后续鉴定。为了确定所收集的植物、食物和疗法的当地重要性，计算了相对引用频率。
大多数女性表示其产乳不存在问题。母乳喂养持续时间符合世界卫生组织（WHO）的建议。在所有使用类别中，共鉴定出 36 个科的 69 种植物、21 种其他食物和疗法。
本研究概述了母亲用作催乳剂、“清洁”或减少母乳的多种植物、食物和疗法，以及她们在哺乳期避免使用的一些食物和疗法。进一步研究这种传统知识具有很大的潜力。此外，对一些植物进行进一步分析可能会很有意义。
