14 / 22
Page 53
Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing | ISSN: 2471-9846 | Volume 4
December 05-06, 2018 | Chicago, USA
Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner Meeting
21
st
World Congress on
Nursing Education and Management
&
The use of traditional medicine by women during pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review
Nokuthula G Mafutha
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to describe the traditional medicines utilized in sub-Saharan Africa, during pregnancy and
their possible adverse effects.
Method:
A scoping review was used; five databases (PubMed, Cinahl, Cinahl plus, Wiley Online, Scopus and SAGE) were the
search for the collection of data, with specific search terms such as sub-Saharan Africa, adverse effects, traditional medicine, and
complementary alternative medicine, pregnancy, labor and postpartum. The literature had to be in English, have a full abstract. Data
included literature from sub-Saharan Africa of both quantitative, qualitative articles and grey literature in peer-reviewed journals
published between January 2007 and August 2018. A data extraction sheet was developed to record the authors, year study was
published, the country study was conducted, research aim and question, participants and methods and the key themes.
Results:
Results revealed three themes such as factors that precipitate the use of traditional medicine by women, and that women had
their own reasons for using traditional medicines and the prevalence of traditional medicine use in sub-Saharan Africa.
Conclusion:
There is significant use of traditional medicine amongst women in sub-Saharan Africa to treat various conditions related
to pregnancy. However, little is known of the adverse effects that these traditional medicines may have on the women or the unborn
baby. This lack of knowledge poses a risk to both mother and the unborn baby; therefore, further investigation is required on the use
and safety of traditional medicines.
Nokuthula.mafutha@wits.ac.zaJ Comm Pub Health Nursing 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2471-9846-C4-012