Midwives' use of complementary/alternative treatments
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1Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, Veysey Building, Salmon Pool Lane, Exeter EX2 4SG, UK. Edzard.Ernst@pms.ac.uk
Background:
in recent years, several surveys have suggested that many midwives use some form of complementary/alternative therapy (CAT), often without the knowledge of obstetricians.
Objective:
to systematically review all surveys of CAT use by midwives.
Search Strategy:
six electronic databases were searched using text terms and MeSH for CAT and midwifery.
Selection Criteria:
surveys were included if they reported quantitative data on the prevalence of CAT use by midwives.
Data Collection And Analysis:
full-text articles of all relevant surveys were obtained. Data were extracted according to pre-defined criteria.
Main Results:
19 surveys met the inclusion criteria. Most were recent and from the USA. Prevalence data varied but were usually high, often close to 100%. Much use of CATs does not seem to be supported by strong evidence for efficacy.
Conclusion:
most midwives seem to use CATs. As not all CATs are without risks, the issue should be debated openly.
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