What Are Herbal Medicines?
Herbal medicines are increasingly popular among the general public, particularly women of childbearing age. These medicines are not only viewed as having clinical benefits but are also generally believed to be safe. In some cases, a systematic review of the evidence-based medicine literature shows that this is not the case.
In pregnancy, soon-to-be mothers are concerned about all medications that may affect their health, the health of their fetus, and the pregnancy outcome. When it comes to the types of evidence for herbal medicines during pregnancy and lactation, not all evidence is created equally.
The type of evidence for the safety of herbal medicines during pregnancy and lactation ranges from theoretical to animal studies, to case reports, to cohort studies and finally to randomized controlled trials.
Herbs that are frequently used during pregnancy, e.g. black and blue cohosh, red raspberry, evening primrose oil
Herbs that are used to treat pregnancy-related complaints, e.g. ginger
Herbs that are known abortifacients, e.g. pennyroyal, parsley
Herbs that have narrow therapeutic indices and are toxic, e.g. digitalis, deadly nightshade, ephedra
Herbs that are used more often by women than men, e.g. red clover, don quai
Herbs that are known to have hormonal effects, e.g. chastetree
The most frequently used herbs, e.g. St. John’s wort (depression), garlic (hyperlipidemia), ginkgo (memory), Echinacea (immune system)
If symptoms persists consult you doctors!
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