title: Use of Medicinal Plants with Teratogenic and Abortive Effects by Pregnant Women in a City in Northeastern Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to verify the use of medicinal plants by pregnant women treated at four Basic Health Units and at a public maternity facility in Brazil's northeast.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional, quantitative study, performed between February and April 2014. The subjects were 178 pregnant women, aged 18 to 42 years. To collect data, a structured questionnaire with dichotomous and multiple choice questions was used. To verify the correlation between the variables, Pearson's chi-square test was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study showed that 30.9% of the pregnant women used medicinal plants, and boldo was the most cited (35.4%). All the plants utilized, except lemongrass, have toxic effects in pregnancy, according to Resolution SES/RJ N° 1757. There was no statistically significant correlation between social class and use of medicinal plants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The health of the study participants and their unborn children is at risk due to the inappropriate use of medicinal plants.
authors.affiliation: Tutorial EducationProgramGroup / Conexão de Saberes, Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande - UFCG, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristina Ruan Ferreira
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: de Araújo
authors.affiliation: Medical School, UFCG, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Felipe Gomes
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Santiago
authors.affiliation: Medical School, UFCG, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo Italiano
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Peixoto
authors.affiliation: Medical School, UFCG, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Olivandro Duarte
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Undergraduate Nursing Course, UFCG, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mayrla de Sousa
authors.initials: Mde S
authors.lastname: Coutinho
mesh_terms: D000019:Abortifacient Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013723:Teratogens; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000019:Abortifacient Agents; D013723:Teratogens