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Chinese herbal medicines used in pregnancy: a population-based survey in Taiwan.

Chuang CH, Hsieh WS, Guo YL, Tsai YJ, Chang PJ, Lin SJ, Chen PC

Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan.

PURPOSE: To explore the use (prevalence and related factors) of Chinese herbal medicines used by pregnant women. METHODS: We used multistage stratified systematic sampling to recruit 2048 postpartum women from the Taiwan national birth register between November and December 2003. Subjects underwent a home interview 6 months after their deliveries. A structured questionnaire was successfully applied to 87% of the sampled population. RESULTS: At least one Chinese herbal medicine was used during pregnancy by 24.1% of the interviewed subjects. Pregnant women with threatened abortion appeared to use more Chinese herbal medicines than other pregnant women. CONCLUSION: Chinese herbal medicines are frequently used by pregnant women in Taiwan and are very frequently used by those with a threatened abortion.

Published 2 April 2007 in Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 16(4): 464-8.
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