Introduction: During their pregnancies women mostly choose alternative treatment in order to avoid side effects, which can occur with conventional treatment, and to avoid teratogens. They use herbs mainly to avoid or treat morning sickness and vomiting, gastrointestinal disorders, colds, insomnia, urinal tract infections and to prepare themselves for childbirth. Purpose: The purpose of this work was to get information how frequent do women use herbs during pregnancy, which herbs do they use and for what purpose. Research method: At first, review of the literature about the use of herbs during pregnancy was made. The author uses descriptive method with critical review of the existing literature. In the second part quantitative research was carried out. Data for the research were obtained using anonymous online survey. The questionnaire had 15 closed-type questions and was published on “EnKlik” survey portal. Results: 62% of participating women preferred herbs over conventional medicine to relieve symptoms in pregnancy, 84% of them used herbs also prior to pregnancy. Mostly they started using herbs because of cold (61%), sickness (46%) and constipation (26%). Mostly they use ginger (46%), raspberry leaves (42%), cranberries (39%) and fennel (35%). More than half (57%) of the women, who preferred herbs over conventional medicine, used raspberry leaves as a preparation for a childbirth. Average pregnant woman using herbs is living in rural area, is between 26 and 30 years old and has university education or higher. Discussion: The results of this and other comparative studies are consistent in the fact that most women, using herbs during pregnancies, are living in rural areas and are highly educated. Mostly they use ginger, raspberry leaves and cranberries. Results show that the common reason that herbs are preferred over conventional drugs is the belief that herbs are more natural and safer. Conclusion: The study provided an insight into the use of herbs with the aim to relieve health problems during pregnancy. Women want more natural solutions, because they think that are more safe and natural.
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