Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 1/2020

01-12-2020 | Care | Research article

Complementary alternative medicine use among postpartum mothers in a primary care setting: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia

Authors: Nik Farah Nik Yusof Fuad, Siew Mooi Ching, Dayangku Hayaty Awg Dzulkarnain, Ai Theng Cheong, Zainul Amiruddin Zakaria

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2020

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Complementary alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used among postpartum mothers to maintain their well-being. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with CAM use among postpartum mothers in a primary-care clinic in Malaysia.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study of 725 postpartum mothers, aged 18 and above, attending a primary-care clinic. The systematic sampling method was used to recruit patients through a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of CAM use among postpartum mothers.

Results

The prevalence of CAM use among postpartum mothers was 85.5%. Manipulative body therapies, including massage, reflexology, hot stone compression and body wrapping were the most widely used methods of CAM (84.1%) among postpartum mothers, followed by biological-based therapies (33.1%). More than half of the respondents (52.1%) opted to use CAM, as they had observed good results from other CAM users. However, our study showed that 57.1% of mothers who consumed herbal medicine reported neonatal jaundice in their newborn. The median of the expenditure on CAM usage was 250 Malaysian Ringgits, or USD 61.3 per month. According to multiple logistic regression analyses, being Muslim (OR = 5.258, 95% CI: 2.952–9.368), being Malay (OR = 4.414, 95% CI: 1.18–16.56), having a higher educational level (OR = 2.561, 95% CI: 1.587–4.133) and having delivered via spontaneous vaginal delivery (OR: 5.660, 95% CI: 3.454–9.276) had a significantly positive association with CAM use among postpartum mothers.

Conclusions

The prevalence of CAM use was high (8 out of 10) among postpartum mothers. Postpartum mothers who are Malay, Muslim, have a higher educational level and who have had spontaneous vaginal delivery tended to use CAM more. Manipulative body therapies, including massage, reflexology, hot stone compression and body wrapping, were the most widely used forms of CAM, followed by biological-based therapies. More than half of the mothers who consumed herbal medicine reported neonatal jaundice in their newborn. Thus, education to increase awareness regarding the consumption of herbs is urgently required in this country.
Literature
1.
2.
Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States 2007 American Psychological Association. Nat Health Stat Rep. 2008;10(12):1–23.
3.
Ministry of Health. Traditional and Complementary Medicine Programme in Malaysia: Handbook. Kuala Lumpur: Traditional & Complementary Medicine Division; 2011. p. 1–50.
4.
Ching SM, Zakaria ZA, Paimin F, Jalalian M. Complementary alternative medicine use among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the primary care setting: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2013;13(1):148.CrossRef
5.
Ching SM, Vasudevan R, Zakaria ZA, Paimin F. Frequency of complementary and alternative medicine usage among Malaysian hypertensive subjects. Life Sci J. 2013;10:2526–31.
6.
Vachirayonstien T, Promkhatkaew D, Bunjob M, Chueyprom A, Chavalittumrong P, Sawanpanyalert P. Molecular evaluation of extracellular activity of medicinal herb Clinacanthus nutans against herpes simplex virus type-2. Nat Prod Res. 2010;24(3):236–45.CrossRef
7.
Ching S, Ramachandran V, Gew LT, Lim SMS, Sulaiman WAW, Foo YL, Hoo F. Complementary alternative medicine use among patients with dengue fever in the hospital setting: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016;16(1):37.CrossRef
8.
Alam A, Ferdosh S, Ghafoor K, Hakim A, Juraimi AS, Khatib A, Sarker ZI. Clinacanthus nutans: a review of the medicinal uses, pharmacology and phytochemistry. Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2016;9(4):402–9.CrossRef
9.
Ali-Shtayeh MS, Jamous RM. Plants used during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and infant healthcare in Palestine. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2015;21(2):84–93.CrossRef
10.
Birdee GS, Kemper KJ, Rothman R, Gardiner P. Use of complementary and alternative medicine during pregnancy and the postpartum period: an analysis of the National Health Interview Survey. J Womens Health. 2014;23(10):824–9.CrossRef
11.
Johnson PJ, Kozhimannil KB, Jou J, Ghildayal N, Rockwood TH. Complementary and alternative medicine use among women of reproductive age in the United States. Womens Health Issues. 2016;26(1):40–7.CrossRef
12.
Ministry of Health: Health technology assessment section (mahtas),traditional postnatal care in restoring women’s physical and mental health. chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://​www.​moh.​gov.​my/​index.​php/​database_​stores/​attach_​download/​348/​267.​ Available on 12th May 2020; 2015.
13.
Teoh CS. Herbal ingestion during pregnancy and post-partum period is a cause for concern. Med J Malaysia. 2013;68(2):157–60.PubMed
14.
Zeng Y, Zhou Y, Chen P, Luo T, Huang M. Use of complementary and alternative medicine across the childbirth spectrum in China. Complement Ther Med. 2014;22(6):1047–52.CrossRef
15.
Ali RS, Gnanasan S, Farooqui M. Women’s perspectives towards traditional and complementary medicine used to conceive, during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2018;30:109–15.CrossRef
16.
Mar SO, Amirah MS, Farahiyah SK, Sugathan S. Complementary medicine practices for pregnancy and postpartum health: a study among malaysian women who gave birth in a tertiary centre. Asian J Med Health Sci. 2019;2(2):64–77.
17.
Gossler SM. Use of complementary and alternative therapies during pregnancy, postpartum, and lactation. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2010;48(11):30–6.CrossRef
18.
Klinik Kesihatan AU2 Keramat: Laporan Bulanan-Tahunan Kedatangan Pesakit Luar KK AU2 Keramat Mengikut Umur-Jantina dan Kumpulan Etnik; 2018.
19.
Stanley Lemeshow, David W Hosmer Jr, Janelle Klar, Lwanga SK: Adequacy of Sample Size in Health Studies ISBN 0 471 92517 9: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Baffins Lane, Chichester West Sussex P019 1 UD, England; 1990.
20.
21.
Dennis C-L, Fung K, Grigoriadis S, Robinson GE, Romans S, Ross L. Traditional postpartum practices and rituals: a qualitative systematic review. Womens Health. 2007;3(4):487–502.
22.
Chuang C-H, Chang P-J, Hsieh W-S, Tsai Y-J, Lin SJ, Chen PC. Chinese herbal medicine use in Taiwan during pregnancy and the postpartum period: A population-based cohort study. Int J Nurs Stud. 2009;46(6):787–95.CrossRef
23.
Sim TF, Sherriff J, Hattingh HL, Parsons R, Tee LB. The use of herbal medicines during breastfeeding: a population-based survey in Western Australia. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2013;13(317):1–10.
24.
Withers M, Kharazmi N, Lim E. Traditional beliefs and practices in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum: a review of the evidence from Asian countries. Midwifery. 2018;56:158–70.CrossRef
25.
Onyiapat J-LE, Okoronkwo IL, Ogbonnaya NP. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults in Enugu, Nigeria. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011;11:19.CrossRef
26.
Nguyen D, Gavaza P, Hollon L, Nicholas R. Examination of the use of complementary and alternative medicine in central Appalachia, USA. Rural Remote Health. 2014;14:2484.PubMed
27.
Tang L, Lee AH, Binns CW, Hui YV, Yau KKW. Consumption of Chinese herbal medicines during pregnancy and postpartum: a prospective cohort study in China. Midwifery. 2016;34:205–10.CrossRef
28.
Hori S, Mihaylov I, Vasconcelos JC, McCoubrie M. Patterns of complementary and alternative medicine use amongst outpatients in Tokyo Japan. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017;8(1):14.CrossRef
29.
Thomson P, Jones J, Evans JM, Leslie SL. Factors influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicine and whether patients inform their primary care physician. Complement Ther Med. 2012;20(1–2):45–53.CrossRef
30.
Abdul Ghani Radiah, Salehudin Saezah: Traditional Belief and Practice on Postpartum Recovery among Mothers in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. MATEC Web of Conferences 2018, 150(MATEC Web Conf. Volume 150, 2018.Malaysia Technical Universities Conference on Engineering and Technology (MUCET 2017) Article Number 05067):1–10.
31.
32.
Bahall M, Edwards M. Perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine among cardiac patients in South Trinidad: a qualitative study. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2015;15:99.CrossRef
33.
34.
Hutch RA. Health and healing: spiritual, pharmaceutical, and mechanical medicine. J Religion Health. 2013;52(3):955–65.CrossRef
35.
36.
Osamor PE, Grady C. Women’s autonomy in health care decision-making in developing countries: a synthesis of the literature. Int J Womens Health. 2016;8:191–202.CrossRef
37.
Kealy MA, Small RE, Liamputtong P. Recovery after caesarean birth: a qualitative study of women's accounts in Victoria, Australia. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2010;10:47.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Complementary alternative medicine use among postpartum mothers in a primary care setting: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia
Authors
Nik Farah Nik Yusof Fuad
Siew Mooi Ching
Dayangku Hayaty Awg Dzulkarnain
Ai Theng Cheong
Zainul Amiruddin Zakaria
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keywords
Care
Massage
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-020-02984-7

Other articles of this Issue 1/2020

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 1/2020 Go to the issue

Research article

Hepatoprotective effects and mechanisms of Ixeris denticulate water extract on liver cirrhosis in experimental rat

Research article

Soyasaponins reduce inflammation by downregulating MyD88 expression and suppressing the recruitments of TLR4 and MyD88 into lipid rafts

Research article

Evaluation of peptide-rich root extracts of Calliandria portoriscensis (Jacq.) Benth (Mimosaceae) for in vitro antimicrobial activity and brine shrimp lethality

Research article

Effect of Gallic acid and Myricetin on ovarian cancer models: a possible alternative antitumoral treatment

Research article

In vitro anticancer activity of Eclipta alba whole plant extract on colon cancer cell HCT-116

Research article

Prevention of acute radiation-induced Proctitis by Aloe vera: a prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial in Pelvic Cancer patients