[Use of medicinal plants during pregnancy].

BACKGROUND: Plants have been used by humans since the ancient times, for eating, for clothing and for curing illnesses. The noxious effects of many medicinal plants are still ignored, mainly during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the use of medicinal plants (MP) in pregnant women in primary care medicine.

METHODS: A descriptive, prospective study was carried out in 300 pregnant women from two primary care clinics. They were interviewed to identify the use of MP, the age of the pregnancy which MP were more used with and the medical indication for its use.

RESULTS: The most frequent trimester of consumption of MP was the first. The most MP ingested were the Japanese mentha (Mentha arvensis), the linden (Justicia pectoralis), the verbena (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) and the anison (Piper auritum). A high prevalence of consumption of MP did not have medical indication.

CONCLUSIONS: The frequent use of MP during pregnancy shows a lack of information about their risks for pregnancy. Several studies of MP showed abortive, teratogenic potential and cytotoxic properties. It is necessary to educate pregnant women to avoid self-medication with MP.