Traditional Medicine and Reproductive Health among Women in and from Developing Countries

Call for Papers

Recently, the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for women's health has been gaining popularity in Europe, Australia, and the USA. In developing countries, however, many women do not have a choice between conventional medicine and CAM. Traditional medicine is the only accessible and affordable form of health care for a large number of women in rural areas in developing countries. One of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations is to improve maternal health by drastically reducing the maternal mortality ratio and achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015. According to the WHO and UNFPA, reproductive health problems (e.g., hemorrhage, hypertension, sepsis, sexually transmitted infections, and unsafe abortions) remain the leading cause of ill health and death for women of childbearing age worldwide.

Ethnobotanical studies have highlighted the extensive use of traditional medicine for female reproductive health in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Many questions remained to be answered, for example: does the use of traditional medicine reflect the major reproductive health problems, or do women in developing countries focus more on cultural bound illnesses? We know very little about the health risks and benefits of these traditional practices. Some plants may have beneficial pharmaceutical properties, while others can cause adverse drug reactions. Even when the herbal ingredients themselves have proven benefits and no known safety concerns, some of the administration methods may be harmful. Importantly, how can safety concerns associated with traditional medicines and practices be identified, monitored, and communicated to users and other stakeholders?

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles, as well as review articles, that will help to understand the potential benefits and possible harms of traditional medicine for reproductive health among women in and from developing countries. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Patterns of herbal medicine use for female reproductive health (including STDs) in developing countries
• Risks and benefits of traditional medicine for women's health
• The role of health-promoting diets or food taboos for pregnant and lactating women
• Adverse drug reactions/pharmacovigilance of traditional medicine for women's health
• Pharmacological properties of plants used for women's health in developing countries
• CAM use for reproductive health among migrant women from developing countries

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/author/submit/journals/ecam/tmr/ according to the following timetable:

Lead Guest Editor

• Tinde van Andel, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

Guest Editors

• Ina Vandebroek, Institute of Economic Botany, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458, USA
• Joanne Barnes, School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
• Hugo de Boer, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands