Medicinal Plants used in Traditional Maternal Health Care Delivery in Five Selected Villages of Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

The health of the mother determines the health of the child; indigenous methods and materials have been used since ages in maternal health care both before and after the delivery. The present study is an attempt to document the use of plants use for maternal health care. The study analyzes the salience of plants used, the associated practices and reasons of such practices by pregnant women in five selected villages in Zango Kataf local Area of Kaduna state, Nigeria. 25 key informants were selected based on recognition by the village heads (five from each village) and information on therapeutic plants were gathered by semi structured questionnaire. Thematic analysis was employed to undertake the qualitative analysis. There were only 12 species of plants belonging to 10 families 12 genera and 9 order that have been recorded in this study which includes: Sida acuta, Tamarindus indica, Moringa oleifera, Jatropha curcas, Ficus polita, Azadirachta indica, Acacia nilotica, Mangifera indica, Habiscus sabdariffa, Zingiber officinale, Verninia amygdalina and Calotropis procera. Most of the plants are set up as juice from fresh plant parts. The majority of the cures are set up from single plant species and taken orally. A large portion of the therapeutic plants are wild plants. This study is important to preserve the knowledge of medicinal plants for maternal health care used by indigenous people. The outcomes obtained in the study are worth being further investigated for conservation strategies and for proof scientifically.