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The Use of Indigenous Medicine Among Women During Pregnancy and Labour in Rural Ghana

Received: 28 February 2019    Accepted: 4 April 2019    Published: 15 May 2019
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Abstract

The increasing use of herbal medicine and related products in pregnancy has been noticed all over the world, however, the safety of these medicines becomes particularly important among pregnant women and children. In spite of the insufficient data to justify herbal use during pregnancy, exposure to herbal products in unspecified quantities among pregnant women is of great concern. This study assessed the determinants of herbal use (Kaligu-tim), a known local oxytocin and its impact on the maternal birth outcomes in a rural district in Ghana. Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. It consisted of 339 women attending postnatal care and child welfare clinics across the district. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire. The selection of respondents was done using a systematic sampling technique. The data were coded and entered into SPSS version 22.0 for analysis. From the study, 64.9% and 45.4% of respondents had used local oxytocin in their previous and current pregnancies respectively; 5.5% did so during the first trimester, 26.8% in the second trimester and 67.7% in the third trimester. The study found a significant relationship between the use of herbal medicine and health service-related challenges, maternal age, the gestational term at delivery, parity of the respondents and mothers’ ethnicity. Previous and current use of Kaligu-tim reduced birth weight by 26g and 34.3g respectively, though these were not statistically significant. However, the previous history of Kaligu-tim was significantly associated with perinatal asphyxia, postpartum haemorrhage, obstructed labour and foetal distress in their subsequent deliveries. It can be concluded that the use of this Kaligu-tim possesses a greater long term health challenge for mothers and their babies.

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 5, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.cajph.20190503.14
Page(s) 120-128
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Labour, Kaligu-tim, Pregnancy, Tolon, Postnatal, Oxytocin

References
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  • APA Style

    Beatrice Ayelyini, Adadow Yidana, Shamsu-Deen Ziblim. (2019). The Use of Indigenous Medicine Among Women During Pregnancy and Labour in Rural Ghana. Central African Journal of Public Health, 5(3), 120-128. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190503.14

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    ACS Style

    Beatrice Ayelyini; Adadow Yidana; Shamsu-Deen Ziblim. The Use of Indigenous Medicine Among Women During Pregnancy and Labour in Rural Ghana. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2019, 5(3), 120-128. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20190503.14

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    AMA Style

    Beatrice Ayelyini, Adadow Yidana, Shamsu-Deen Ziblim. The Use of Indigenous Medicine Among Women During Pregnancy and Labour in Rural Ghana. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2019;5(3):120-128. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20190503.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cajph.20190503.14,
      author = {Beatrice Ayelyini and Adadow Yidana and Shamsu-Deen Ziblim},
      title = {The Use of Indigenous Medicine Among Women During Pregnancy and Labour in Rural Ghana},
      journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {5},
      number = {3},
      pages = {120-128},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20190503.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20190503.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20190503.14},
      abstract = {The increasing use of herbal medicine and related products in pregnancy has been noticed all over the world, however, the safety of these medicines becomes particularly important among pregnant women and children. In spite of the insufficient data to justify herbal use during pregnancy, exposure to herbal products in unspecified quantities among pregnant women is of great concern. This study assessed the determinants of herbal use (Kaligu-tim), a known local oxytocin and its impact on the maternal birth outcomes in a rural district in Ghana. Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. It consisted of 339 women attending postnatal care and child welfare clinics across the district. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire. The selection of respondents was done using a systematic sampling technique. The data were coded and entered into SPSS version 22.0 for analysis. From the study, 64.9% and 45.4% of respondents had used local oxytocin in their previous and current pregnancies respectively; 5.5% did so during the first trimester, 26.8% in the second trimester and 67.7% in the third trimester. The study found a significant relationship between the use of herbal medicine and health service-related challenges, maternal age, the gestational term at delivery, parity of the respondents and mothers’ ethnicity. Previous and current use of Kaligu-tim reduced birth weight by 26g and 34.3g respectively, though these were not statistically significant. However, the previous history of Kaligu-tim was significantly associated with perinatal asphyxia, postpartum haemorrhage, obstructed labour and foetal distress in their subsequent deliveries. It can be concluded that the use of this Kaligu-tim possesses a greater long term health challenge for mothers and their babies.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Use of Indigenous Medicine Among Women During Pregnancy and Labour in Rural Ghana
    AU  - Beatrice Ayelyini
    AU  - Adadow Yidana
    AU  - Shamsu-Deen Ziblim
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    AB  - The increasing use of herbal medicine and related products in pregnancy has been noticed all over the world, however, the safety of these medicines becomes particularly important among pregnant women and children. In spite of the insufficient data to justify herbal use during pregnancy, exposure to herbal products in unspecified quantities among pregnant women is of great concern. This study assessed the determinants of herbal use (Kaligu-tim), a known local oxytocin and its impact on the maternal birth outcomes in a rural district in Ghana. Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. It consisted of 339 women attending postnatal care and child welfare clinics across the district. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire. The selection of respondents was done using a systematic sampling technique. The data were coded and entered into SPSS version 22.0 for analysis. From the study, 64.9% and 45.4% of respondents had used local oxytocin in their previous and current pregnancies respectively; 5.5% did so during the first trimester, 26.8% in the second trimester and 67.7% in the third trimester. The study found a significant relationship between the use of herbal medicine and health service-related challenges, maternal age, the gestational term at delivery, parity of the respondents and mothers’ ethnicity. Previous and current use of Kaligu-tim reduced birth weight by 26g and 34.3g respectively, though these were not statistically significant. However, the previous history of Kaligu-tim was significantly associated with perinatal asphyxia, postpartum haemorrhage, obstructed labour and foetal distress in their subsequent deliveries. It can be concluded that the use of this Kaligu-tim possesses a greater long term health challenge for mothers and their babies.
    VL  - 5
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Author Information
  • Department of Public Health, School of Allied Health Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

  • Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Science, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

  • Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Science, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

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