Denise and her blog
Traditional Medicine Approval
I was pleased to read recently that Burkina Faso in central Africa has approved an additional eighteen traditional medicines for use within healthcare, to supplement the 53 products already approved. These are herbal remedies long used as local family medicines that have been validated through a range of formal processes and now legitimised in law. As with other countries in which traditional herbal remedies play a prominent part in healthcare, regulating specific plants in law prevents the plundering of locally grown plants for development as medicines by the largely European pharmaceutical industry; plants known to have therapeutic properties in Burkina Faso and elsewhere can not be harvested by external industry without formal governmental permission.
There is a wealth of indigenous knowledge and power in people using natural remedies to help themselves. Whilst modern medicine (pharmaceuticals) has its place, so does traditional medicine. It empowers the population to help itself rather than relying on the disempowering state system (such as the UK's NHS). Traditional medicine uses freely available plants to encourage good health at a fraction of the cost of sometimes unnecessary drugs. It also treats holistically (whole person care) rather than systemically (seeing an individual as an engine with different parts). On the other hand, many developed countries have a growing interest in alternative systems of medicine, and the international trade in herbal medicines and other types of traditional remedies has grown exponentially.
In addition to Burkina Faso, other countries that have legalised indigenous plants include China, India and several South American countries which facilitate holistic medicine alongside orthodox medicine. indeed, the World Health Organisation has a traditional medicines programme to facilitate the expansion, where appropriate, of herbal medicine use. In other countries, such as Canada, herbal medicines are regulated as drugs; in the UK the post-Brexit Traditional Medicines Regulations tacitly approve remedies that have been in common use for thirty years or more, although these remedies continue to sit outside the legislature pertaining to drugs.Unfortunately, this lack of formal recognition contributes to a general disparagement of herbal medicines by the establishment – government, the healthcare regulatory organisation and the medical profession, ably reinforced by the media. This leads to those who wish to explore alternatives to drugs doing so surreptitiously, either through a sense of embarrassment or fear of reprimand.
Pregnancy and birth are of particular concern when it comes to self-administration of active herbal medicines – not because they don’t work but because, in fact, they DO. All herbal medicines act pharmacologically and have the power to be therapeutic when used appropriately. However, anything that has the power to do good also has the potential to do harm when not used appropriately. Herbal remedies may cause adverse effects if taken in too high a dose or for too long, and may interact with prescribed conventional medication. Many herbal remedies contain chemicals which have anticoagulant properties, or which have anti-diabetic effects or which impact on the liver.
Expectant parents’ use of raspberry leaf tea for birth preparation, ginger for nausea, clary sage to enhance contractions, evening primrose oil to encourage cervical ripening and many more remedies must be sued appropriately in order to be safe. Midwives, doulas, obstetricians and GPs must take account of the fact that many women choose to self-administer natural remedies in the belief that, because they know drugs should generally be avoided and because herbal medicines are “natural” they must obviously be safe (or safer). Maternity care professionals should:
- ask women at booking about their use of herbal medicines and aromatherapy oils and document their answers
- ask again towards the end of the third trimester as they prepare for birth and in early labour to determine if they wish to use any natural remedies
- advise women on any other medication NOT to take herbal remedies unless prescribed by a fully qualified medical herbalist practitioner, to avoid interactions which may potentiate or inhibit conventional medicines
- advise women booked for elective Caesarean to DISCONTINUE all herbal remedies at least two weeks before surgery to minimise the risk of bleeding.
Previous articles
Traditional Medicine Approval
Caesarean Birth Is Not A Lifestyle Choice!
Birth Of My Son
Paternalism in Maternity Care: The “Just In Case Syndrome”
Transitioning Role From Midwife To Grandmother
Midwifery, Aromatherapy and Natural Birth Under Attack Again
About Midwifery
Quality Of Education In Midwifery Complementary Therapies
Safe Maternity Care
The Publication Of The Ockenden Report
