not-prescribed use of herbal products and supplements among pregnant women

Introduction: not-prescribed use (npu) of herbal products and supplements during pregnancy is a potent risk for both mother and fetus and a big challenge for anesthesiologists. however, little is known about this topic in guilan province, iran.objective: this study aimed to determine how pregnant women take supplements and herbal medications.materials and methods: this analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022. eligible pregnant women enrolled in the survey, and a checklist containing items about maternal demographic data and the maternal pattern of herbs and supplements used during pregnancy was filled out through a face-to-face interview. multivariate logistic regression, the chi-square, and the mann-whitney u statistical tests were used to analyze the data.results: the data from 682 women were analyzed. a total of 488 women (71.6%) were less or equal to 30 years old; 498(73%) lived in urban areas; 508(74.5%) were homemakers; 444(65.1%) had under-diploma or diploma education, 292(42.8%) were gravid one or 251(36.8%) gravid two. in addition, 25.1% reported using at least one herbal remedy during pregnancy, and 90% took supplements; 0.7% had npu of supplements and 93.6% took herbal products. about 10% did not take any supplements. iron (23.3%) and folic acid (23.1%) were the most frequently taken supplements, and thyme (20.2%) and mint (17.5%) were the most commonly taken herbs. using logistic regression, we found that urbanization (or=1.91, 95% c, 1.6%, 3.14%, p=0.01), employment (or=2.21, 95% ci; 1.46%, 3.33%, p=0.0001), and higher gravidity (or=2.03, 95% ci; 1.22%, 3.36%, p=0.006) increases the probability of consuming supplements and herbal products during pregnancy.conclusion: the lack of physicians’ supervision of the herbal therapy process among pregnant women in an academic center was worrying. however, most women received the supplements based on healthcare professionals’ advice. a few women did not take essential supplements.