Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Utilization and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women in Gazo District, North Wollo, Ethiopia, 2025.

Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Utilization and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women in Gazo District, North Wollo, Ethiopia, 2025. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Utilization and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women in Gazo District, North Wollo, Ethiopia, 2025. Absera Melak Workineh, Wondwosen Asegidew Meseret, Fasika Mola Abate, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8692152/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: About 80% of the population globally utilizes herbal medicine, especially in rural areas of developing nations including pregnancy for treating common symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and digestive issues. In Africa, including Ethiopia, it is a common practice during pregnancy, driven by limited access to modern healthcare and strong traditional beliefs. However, the limited evidence about the utilization of herbal medicine, especially in local areas. Objective: This study assessed the Prevalence of herbal medicine utilization and associated factors among pregnant women in Gazo District, Northeast Ethiopia, 2025. Method: Community-based cross-sectional design was used for 462 pregnant women in Gazo District, Northeast Ethiopia, 2025. A systematic random sampling method was used to select the participant's pregnant women. Four trained Health professional data collectors interviewed selected pregnant women using structured and pre-tested questionnaires. The data was entered using Epi-data version 4.6 and analyzed using Stata version 16.1. The univariable binary logistic regression model was used to fit all independent variables, and variables with p-values of ≤ 0.25 were selected as candidate variables for the multivariable binary logistic regression model. The relationship between dependent and independent variables was declared statistically significant in the final model at a p-value of ≤ 0.05 in the 95% confidence interval. Result: This study included 456 pregnant women, with a response rate of 98.7%. Two hundred sixty-five pregnant women, (58.11 %) (95% CI: 54.1.1- 61.9) reported herbal utilization. Rural resident pregnant women (AOR: 2.08, 95% CI: 1.42- 4.20), unable to read and write (AOR =3.78, 95% CI: 1.60 -8.82), and nonformal education status 5.08 (AOR =5.08, 95% CI: (2.04 -12.63), distance from a health facility (AOR: 6.06,95% CI: 3.59- 10.22), previous exposure to herbal medicine (AOR: 4.08, 95%CI: 2.19-7.58), encouraging cultural in traditional traditional practice (AOR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.25-3.83) and lower antenatal care visits (AOR: 3.45, 95%CI: 1.98- 6.04) were significantly associated factors. Conclusion: Overall, the overall likelihood of herbal medicine utilization among pregnant women was high. Residence, educational level distance from the health facility, previous exposure to herbal medicine, encouraging cultural practice, and antenatal care visits were predictor variables. It is recommended that the organization raise awareness among pregnant women of the potential risks and advantages of herbal medicine use during pregnancy. Ethiopia Gazo district Herbal medicine utilization Pregnant mother Prevalence Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Figure 5 and 6 are not available with this version. Table 6 is not available with this version. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterials.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8692152","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":580044552,"identity":"9b792262-f3e0-4ae8-9e21-8da8297dbd90","order_by":0,"name":"Absera Melak Workineh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Absera","middleName":"Melak","lastName":"Workineh","suffix":""},{"id":580044553,"identity":"46790749-5201-4454-b562-1f9fe4ad7fb5","order_by":1,"name":"Wondwosen Asegidew Meseret","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wondwosen","middleName":"Asegidew","lastName":"Meseret","suffix":""},{"id":580044554,"identity":"9be52f4c-f107-4434-9139-26394d60fb42","order_by":2,"name":"Fasika Mola Abate","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fasika","middleName":"Mola","lastName":"Abate","suffix":""},{"id":580044555,"identity":"7a0f50cc-5f87-4c1f-837a-df3d48da14a0","order_by":3,"name":"Demelash Geset Haile","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Demelash","middleName":"Geset","lastName":"Haile","suffix":""},{"id":580044556,"identity":"30934217-0f7e-4ac1-be50-c8ad4fcd9974","order_by":4,"name":"Henok Ditta Hirpo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Henok","middleName":"Ditta","lastName":"Hirpo","suffix":""},{"id":580044557,"identity":"2e90561b-3123-4ba2-a504-f8cb99900075","order_by":5,"name":"Asnake Abebaw Tareke","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Asnake","middleName":"Abebaw","lastName":"Tareke","suffix":""},{"id":580044558,"identity":"c30a1a4a-f7fa-48ee-abe3-1cf0d3aa504d","order_by":6,"name":"Desta Seyoum Tadesse","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Desta","middleName":"Seyoum","lastName":"Tadesse","suffix":""},{"id":580044559,"identity":"c98a5c63-b4b2-472d-873a-ee6215161d3a","order_by":7,"name":"Endedegena Abebe Fenta","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Endedegena","middleName":"Abebe","lastName":"Fenta","suffix":""},{"id":580044560,"identity":"a897e920-4e54-44c7-849f-e896c94380d2","order_by":8,"name":"Amare Gebeyehu Alem","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amare","middleName":"Gebeyehu","lastName":"Alem","suffix":""},{"id":580044561,"identity":"023c402a-f087-4dd9-8f0d-3bb6cab97a17","order_by":9,"name":"Zeleke Goshu Getie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zeleke","middleName":"Goshu","lastName":"Getie","suffix":""},{"id":580044562,"identity":"28f73860-5221-4335-8194-41eb772bdb7f","order_by":10,"name":"Wondimu Sema Alemu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wondimu","middleName":"Sema","lastName":"Alemu","suffix":""},{"id":580044563,"identity":"4503a4dd-7356-40b2-8614-6eb135dc815b","order_by":11,"name":"Dawit Chernet Birhanu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCAwxsUNbhA0BCQoZ4LTyMxxJAWnhI0MJ8xgBME9TBd/zwswcf99yRs2c78/nVjRoLHgb2w0c34NMieSbN3HDGs2fGPDxnt1nnHAM6jCct7QY+LQY3eNikeQ4cTuyROLvNOIcNqEWCx4ywlj8HDtf3yL95Zpzzj1gtDAcOJ/AwnGF+nNtGhBagX8wkew4cNuw5cMyMObdPgoeNkF9AISbx48BhefaGw48/53yrk+NnP3wMrxZkwCYBJolVDgLMH0hRPQpGwSgYBSMHAAAGfktHOYQVFwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan Health Science College","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dawit","middleName":"Chernet","lastName":"Birhanu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-25 11:53:12","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8692152/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8692152/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101524274,"identity":"9fcaa8b7-a0a3-4dea-9be7-1eafae236f06","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-30 17:55:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":518261,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptdocx.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8692152/v1_covered_8c94d78c-6200-490f-ab55-287bd2217e68.pdf"},{"id":101246484,"identity":"4d1a870c-b28a-4263-b502-6908c7448f21","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-27 16:42:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1038225,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterials.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8692152/v1/f44887c8dd852ae402f9caea.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eNo competing interests reported.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigure 5 and 6 are not available with this version.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 6 is not available with this version.\u003c/p\u003e","formattedTitle":"Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Utilization and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women in Gazo District, North Wollo, Ethiopia, 2025.","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Ethiopia, Gazo district, Herbal medicine utilization, Pregnant mother, Prevalence","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8692152/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8692152/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBackground: About\u0026nbsp; 80% of the population globally utilizes herbal medicine, especially in rural areas of developing nations including pregnancy for treating common symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and digestive issues.\u0026nbsp; In Africa, including Ethiopia, it is a common practice during pregnancy, driven by limited access to modern healthcare and strong traditional beliefs. However, the limited evidence about the utilization of herbal medicine, especially in local areas.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eObjective: This study assessed the Prevalence of herbal medicine utilization and associated factors among pregnant women in Gazo District, Northeast Ethiopia, 2025.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethod: Community-based cross-sectional design was used for 462 pregnant women in Gazo District, Northeast Ethiopia, 2025. A systematic random sampling method was used to select the participant's pregnant women. Four trained Health professional data collectors interviewed selected pregnant women using structured and pre-tested questionnaires. The data was entered using Epi-data version 4.6 and analyzed using Stata version 16.1. The univariable binary logistic regression model was used to fit all independent variables, and variables with p-values of ≤ 0.25 were selected as candidate variables for the multivariable binary logistic regression model. The relationship between dependent and independent variables was declared statistically significant in the final model at a p-value of ≤ 0.05 in the 95% confidence interval.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResult: This study included 456 pregnant women, with a response rate of 98.7%.\u0026nbsp; Two hundred sixty-five pregnant women, (58.11 %) (95% CI: 54.1.1- 61.9) reported herbal utilization. Rural resident pregnant women\u0026nbsp; (AOR: 2.08, 95% CI: 1.42- 4.20), unable to read and write (AOR =3.78, 95% CI:\u0026nbsp; 1.60 -8.82), and nonformal education status 5.08\u0026nbsp; (AOR =5.08, 95% CI: (2.04 -12.63), distance from a health facility (AOR: 6.06,95% CI: 3.59- 10.22), previous exposure to herbal medicine (AOR: 4.08, 95%CI: 2.19-7.58), encouraging cultural in traditional traditional practice\u0026nbsp; (AOR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.25-3.83) and lower antenatal care visits (AOR: 3.45, 95%CI: 1.98-\u0026nbsp; 6.04) were significantly associated factors.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConclusion: Overall, the overall likelihood of herbal medicine utilization among pregnant women was high. Residence, educational level distance from the health facility, previous exposure to herbal medicine, encouraging cultural practice, and antenatal care visits were predictor variables. It is recommended that the organization raise awareness among pregnant women of the potential risks and advantages of herbal medicine use during pregnancy.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Prevalence of Herbal Medicine Utilization and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women in Gazo District, North Wollo, Ethiopia, 2025.","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-27 16:42:27","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8692152/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0b3e4d9b-1849-40d6-9266-54e682a1382c","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 27th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-30T17:54:37+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-27 16:42:27","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8692152","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8692152","identity":"rs-8692152","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}