Use of complementary and alternative therapies during pregnancy, postpartum, and lactation.
The use of complementary and alternative therapies for depression is an issue of growing interest for practitioners who care for women. Postpartum depression is a serious and debilitating illness that affects many women, their infants, and families. Often, women do not report feelings of sadness or depression to their health care providers due to stigma. Some women have multiple concerns in using prescription drugs, especially if they are breastfeeding their infants. In addition, more women are educating themselves about the potential side and adverse effects of prescriptions drugs and are exploring complementary and alternative therapies. With the availability of information from multiple sources, whether accurate or not, women may be using these therapies inappropriately. Two major concerns in using complementary and alternative therapies are the purity and safety of the herbs and herbal formulations and the potential lack of communication between the client and health care provider.
University of Tennessee, College of Nursing, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4180, USA. sgossler@utk.edu
Sandra M
SM
Gossler
D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000009:adverse effects; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D041743:Herb-Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D020902:Hypericum / Q000009:adverse effects; D007774:Lactation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008515:Medicine, Ayurvedic; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012449:Safety
D028321:Plant Preparations