Disclosure of complementary and alternative medicine use to conventional healthcare providers among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in Tongaren Sub-County, Bungoma, Kenya

Abstract

Due to the widespread and potentially risky concomitant complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and conventional medicine utilization during pregnancy, CAM use disclosure to conventional healthcare givers is crucial for the health and safety of both the mother and the fetus. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of CAM use disclosure to healthcare givers and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics (ANCs) in Tongaren Sub- County of Bungoma County, Kenya, using a cross-sectional survey data collected through semi-structured questionnaires between May and June 2021 from 340 pregnant women attending ANCs of public health facilities in Tongaren. The Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed on the data using SPSS version 24.0, with the statistical significance considered at a p-value of <0.05 for all analyses. Fifty percent of surveyed pregnant women reported using one or more forms of CAM during their pregnancy, and the overall rate of CAM use disclosure to health care givers was 18.6%. Pregnant women disclosed herbal medicine use at a higher rate (50%) compared to animal-based (12.5%), spiritual (28.2%), and psycho-physical therapies (9.4%). The Chi-square test revealed that educational status (χ2 = 11.855, p = 0.037), religion (χ2 = 8.563, p = 0.003), employment status (χ2 = 6.522, p = 0.038),  occupation type (χ2 = 10.855, p = 0.013), and government insurance status (χ2 = 3.852, p < 0.05) were significantly associated with the disclosure of CAM use to healthcare givers by pregnant women and were therefore considered potential predictors of CAM use disclosure (p ≤ 0.05). The corresponding 81.4% non-disclosure rate of CAM use was majorly due to: unwillingness to disclose CAM use to anyone, healthcare givers not asking, and fear of the healthcare givers’ reactions. In conclusion, the percentage of CAM users during pregnancy is relatively high, however, a high percentage of pregnant women don’t discuss their CAM use with healthcare givers due to lack of effective communication. Therefore, targeted measures towards both pregnant women and healthcare givers are needed to enhance communication of CAM utilization.