Methods: Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology framework a scoping review was conducted; five databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Cinahl plus, Wiley Online, Scopus and Sage direct) were the search for the collection of data, with specific search terms such as Sub-Saharan Africa, adverse effects, traditional medicine, and complementary alternative medicine, pregnancy, labour and postpartum. The literature had to be in English, have a full abstract. Data included literature from Sub-Saharan Africa of both quantitative, qualitative articles and grey literature in peer-reviewed journals published between January 2007 and August 2018. A data extraction sheet was developed to record the authors, year study was published, the country study was conducted, research aim and question, participants and methods and the key themes. To prevent the risk of bias, the first author extracted the data while it was reviewed by the second author reviewed for agreement. Content analysis was used to analyse the data.
Results: There is a need for indigenous researchers to pay specific attention to the use of traditional medicine by women during pregnancy. These finding could enable health practitioners to formulate effective health education strategies that will scientifically integrate safe utilization of such medicines during pregnancy. Results revealed three themes: factors that precipitate the use of traditional medicine by women; women had their own reasons for using traditional medicines and the prevalence of traditional medicine use in sub-Saharan Africa.
Conclusion: There is significant use of traditional medicine amongst women in sub-Saharan Africa to treat various conditions related to pregnancy. However, little is known of the adverse effects that these traditional medicines may have on the women or the unborn baby, specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa. This lack of knowledge poses a risk to both mother and the unborn baby; therefore, further investigation is required on the use and safety of traditional medicines.