Analysis of Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM): Ginger Nursing Assignment
Analysis of Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM): Ginger
Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are being used more and more by health professionals and patients in addition to medical based therapies.
The Cochrane Collaboration (2000) defines alternative and complementary medicines as;
a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health system, modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period.
Complementary medicine models form the foundation of primary care systems in some countries worldwide. There are many different types of complementary and alternative medicines such as: ginger, raspberry leaf, castor oil, cabbage leaves, acupuncture and jasmine herbal tea. This written assignment will focus on ginger and will explore the use of this complementary alternative medicine across the childbearing continuum as recommended by midwives in clinical practice and will discuss the roles and responsibilities of the midwife when endorsing this intervention and the potential risks for both the woman and baby.
There are many reasons why people use complementary alternative medicines such as: conventional medicine has not fixed their problem and some people believe that natural products are much more safe and healthier to use rather than prescription drugs (Women’s Health Organisation, 2012).
Ginger has been used as a cooking spice as well as a herbal medicine throughout history, and has been commonly used to treat morning sickness, motion sickness, colic, gas, upset stomachs and nausea. There are special precautions and warnings that should be followed as using ginger when pregnant is debated. Herbs may contain substances that could cause premature birth, uterine contractions and miscarriage (American Pregnancy Association, 2013). There are some concerns that ginger may affect the sex hormones of a fetus and there are also reports of a miscarriage occurring close to the 12th week of pregnancy in women who took ginger to alleviate their morning sickness. There are also a few concerns that ginger may increase the risk of bleeding with some professionals advising women to not use it close to their delivery date (Medline Plus, 2014). There is not enough proof to show whether or not the use of ginger during breastfeeding is safe, therefore it is best to not use when women are breastfeeding.