الفهرس 
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Abstract
Pregnancy is a normal physiological process that affects the woman physically and psychologically resulting in some minor discomforts. The most common discomforts experienced throughout pregnancy are: nausea and vomiting, heartburn, constipation, colic and flatulence, muscle cramps and backache. These minor discomforts present difficulties for the woman herself and health care providers as they affect women’s life. The way of dealing with these discomforts are either positive or negative; leading to numerous favorable or unfavorable health consequences.(1,3,10)
Home remedies are some of the ways that are increasable used during pregnancy to manage these discomforts. Although there is evidence for the effective and safe use of many home remedies, yet an abundant of these remedies are not yet proved to be either effective or safe for pregnancy and the fetus.(10, 110)
In Egypt, there are limited data on the extent of women’s use of home remedies during pregnancy to relieve minor discomforts. This raises the attention to investigate the use of home remedies for the management of minor discomforts of pregnancy. The availability of such information could be important for the development and provision of appropriate health care services for mother and her fetus.(157)
Aim of the study
The present study aimed to determine the use of home remedies for management of minor discomforts of pregnancy, namely: nausea & vomiting, heartburn, colic & flatulence, constipation, calf muscle cramps and low backache.
Materials and method
Setting:
The study was conducted at two outpatient obstetrical clinics in kafr el-dawar namely: The central hospital (El-shamlaa) and the general hospital (El-meree)
Subjects:
A convenience sample of 320 pregnant women who attended the above mentioned settings (160 study subjects from each setting). They were chosen according the following criteria: having normal course of pregnancy, having one or more minor discomforts, pregnant women from rural areas, absence of any chronic diseases and willing to participate in the study.
Data collection tools
Three tools were used for data collection:
Tool (1): Bio-socio-demographic characteristics structured interview questionnaire: It entailed three parts: the first part included socio-demographic characteristics of the study subjects. The second part covered subjects’ reproductive history, and the third part covered profile/nature of the current pregnancy.
Tool (II): Minor discomforts presence interview questionnaire: It is a list of the 6 specific minor discomforts in the study: each subject has to answer yes or no in relation to its presence, namely: nausea & vomiting, heartburn, abdominal colic & flatulence, constipation, muscle cramps and low backache.
Tool (III): Home remedies used for management of minor discomforts interview questionnaire: It was developed and used by the researcher to collect the necessary data. It included: used home remedies, techniques of usage, frequency, effectiveness and sources of knowledge.
The interview schedule was tested for content validity by 5 juries who were experts in the related field. A pilot study was carried out on 32 pregnant women (who were excluded from the study subjects) to test the relevance, validity and clarity of the tool as well as the time needed to complete it
The main findings of the present study were:
Subjects’ demographic data:
• More than two-thirds (67.8%) of the study subjects were in their twenties.
• More than two-fifths (45.6%) of them were either illiterate or read and write.
• Most of them (92.8%) were housewives and had just enough family income.
• More than one-half (52.2%) of the study subjects were living in extended families
Subjects’ reproductive history:
• About three-fifths (57.8%) of the study subjects were multigravadi(2-4 pregnancies), compared to about two-fifths (39.0%) of them were primiparous.
• The majority of them (79.6%& 95.9%) had no abortion and stillbirth respectively.
• About two-fifths (40.3%) had no children, compared to almost one-quarter who had one or two living child.
Subjects’ current pregnancy profile:
• More than one-half (51.9%) of study subjects were in their second trimester, compared to less than one-half (45.6%) of those who were in the third trimester. Most of them (98.4%) had attended an inadequate number of ante-natal visits at the time of data collection and the majority (80.3%) attended for reassurance.
Presence of minor discomfort
• More than three-quarters (78.1%) of the study subjects had low backache, while 65.9%, 65%&53.8% had heartburn, colic &flatulence and leg cramps respectively. Only 33.4 %& 26.9% had morning sickness and constipation respectively.
Home remedies used to manage backache
• Home remedies had been used by vast majority (90%) of those who had backache. Lying on the back was the most used one by nearly three-quarters (73.45%), compared to 43.81%&37.61% who used natural oils for back massage and warm compresses respectively. Only 15.93%&10.62% used lying on the side and comfortable sitting techniques respectively.
Home remedies used to manage heartburn
• Nearly three-quarters (74.4%) of the study subjects who had heartburn used home remedies. The vast majority of them (87.3%) used food remedies (as raw rice and raw beans); while more than three-fifths (63.7&60.5) used fluid (as milk) and herbal remedies (peppermint and ginger) respectively. Only 1.9% used fruit remedies.
Home remedies used to manage colic and flatulence
Home remedies had been used by the majority (83%) of those who had colic& flatulence. herbal remedies had been used by the vast majority (94.2%) such as (peppermint, aniseed and cumin).
Home remedies used to manage leg cramps
• Almost four-fifths (80.2%) of those who had leg cramps used home remedies. The vast majority of them (92%) used leg exercises (massage and leg extension).
Home remedies used to manage morning sickness
• Home remedies were used by more than three-quarters (78%) of those who had morning sickness. Food remedies (as pickles and whey) were been used by most of them (96.4%), compared to fruit (as lemon) and herbal (peppermint and ginger) remedies which were used by (63.1%& 53.6%) respectively. Fluid remedies were used by only 16.7% (as lemon juice).
Home remedies used for management constipation
• More than three-fifths (68.6%) of those who had constipation had used home remedies. More than three- fifths (71.2%) of them had used herbal remedies as castor oil, peppermint and fenugreek, while about one-half (50.9%) had used fluid remedies as milk. Only 11.9%& 1.7% had used food (yogurt) and fruit (banana and orange) remedies respectively.
Source of knowledge about the used home remedies.
• Family and relatives were the main sources of information about home remedies used in the management of minor discomforts among all the study subjects.
Recommendations
In light of the present study finding, the following recommendations are suggested:
- Recommendation related to ministry of health (MOH)
• MOH Should set clear guidelines to ensure safety and efficacy of home remedies especially herbal remedies during pregnancy.
- Recommendation related to nursing education
• The issue of home remedies regarding minor discomforts is recommended to be included within maternity nursing curricula at different nursing educational institutions.
• Nursing curriculum should be familiarized with research findings.
- Recommendation related to nursing practice
• Workshops and conferences to midwife nurses to ensure that they are aware of safe and harmful remedies used during pregnancy should be held.
• Evidence- based information and researches about home remedies should be encouraged among maternity nurses to evaluate its effectiveness and risks.
- Recommendation related to mass media
• Mass media should be utilized in disseminating simple and correct information about the safe home remedies that are used in relieving minor discomforts during pregnancy.
• The press and media have both a vital role and responsibility in the communicating the health benefits and risks of using home remedies during pregnancy.
- Recommendation related to pregnant women
• Increase awareness of pregnant women and their mothers about minor discomforts and how to cope with them. Also, Increase their awareness about the benefits and risks of home remedies used during pregnancy through health education program.
Future studies:
6. Replication of the present study in an urban area to explore any differences.
7. Factors associated with use of home remedies among pregnant women.
8. Evaluate the effect of teaching programs for pregnant women to counteract their use of harmful home remedies.
9. Future studies by the appropriate specialists are needed to evaluate the actions, effectiveness, and side effects of certain herbs which were most used among subjects of the present study, mainly: peppermint, ginger, fenugreek and anise
10. Specialized studies to explore home remedies especially herbs use in other spans of maternity cycles.