Women's Health Childbirth Research

Midwives opt for herbs in labour

Certified midwives (CNMs) are currently using many herbal medicines, in preference to drugs, to stimulate, induce and assist in the process of labour.

Researchers at the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, USA carried out a national survey of 500 members of the American College of Nurse-Midwives which revealed that 92 per cent of nurses used or spoke about some form of herbal medicine with their patients.

The study also looked at forty eight nurse-midwifery education programs to see what level of education in herbal medicines was offered. Sixty-four per cent of the nurse-midwifery education programmes were found to include instruction in the use of some herbal preparations to stimulate labour in their formal curricula, and 92 per cent included informal discussions on the use of herbal preparations. However, of those midwives using herbal medicine, only 4 per cent of them learned about the herbal medicine through formal education.

The study found that, of those CNMs using herbal medicines to stimulate labour, 64 per cent used blue cohosh, 45 per cent used black cohosh, 63 per cent used red raspberry leaf, 93 per cent used castor oil, and 60 per cent used evening primrose oil.

Evening primrose oil was the most common herbal preparation discussed in nurse-midwifery education programs. Castor oil was the most commonly used herbal preparation used by nurse-midwives in clinical practice.

The CNMs using herbal preparations tended to be younger (43 versus 45 years) and were more likely to deliver at home or in an in-hospital or out-of-hospital birthing centre.

Most CNMs (69 per cent) learnt about using them from other CNMs and 78 per cent of the CNMs who used herbal preparations to stimulate labour directly, only 22 per cent mentioned them in their written practice. Seventy-five percent of the CNMs who used herbal preparations to stimulate labour used them first or instead of pitocin.

This study shows overwhelmingly that nurses use herbal medicines during the labour process and that it would benefit many more CMNs, if they were more informed during their education as to the benefits derived from using many of the herbal medicines available.

Source : J Nurse Midwifery 1999 May-Jun;44(3):205-16
A national survey of herbal preparation use by nurse-midwives for labour stimulation. Review of the literature and recommendations for practice.McFarlin BL, Gibson MH, O'Rear J, Harman P

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