Natural remedies are widely used by pregnant women as they are perceived
to be more “natural” and safe and also to avoid pharmaceutical treatment. Although
some natural remedies can be used during pregnancy, some plants are not safe and for
most of them, there is a lack of clinical evidence of safety. In addition, some natural
remedies have a potential risk of herb-drug interactions. Many studies can be found in
the literature, specifically on treating infections, but most are non-clinical studies. The
main natural anti-infective remedies used by pregnant women are cranberry, echinacea,
barberry, hydrastis, raspberry and garlic. The strongest clinical evidence was found in
cranberry and echinacea, mainly to treat urinary tract infection recurrence and cold
infection, respectively, these seem to be safe, but the efficacy is not clear. Natural
remedies lack studies with methodological rigor conducted with standardized extracts
with defined active compounds content for the guarantee of reliable results.
Keywords: Barberry, Cranberry, Echinacea, Efficacy, Garlic, Herbal Medicine,
Hydrastis, Infection, Natural Product, Pregnancy, Red Raspberry, Safety.
