Exploring traditional medicine utilisation during antenatal care among women in Bulilima District of Plumtree in Zimbabwe.

Traditional medicine utilisation during antenatal care has been on the increase in several countries. Therefore, addressing and reinforcing the Sustainable Development Goal of maternal mortality reduction, there is a need to take traditional medicine utilisation during pregnancy into consideration. This paper explores traditional medicine utilisation during antenatal care among women in Bulilima District of Plumtree in Zimbabwe. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 177 randomly selected women using a semi-structured questionnaire. Fisher's Exact Test, Odds Ratios, and Multiple Logistic Regression were utilised to determine any associations between different demographic characteristics and traditional medicine utilisation patterns using STATA SE Version 13. The prevalence of Traditional Medicine utilisation among pregnant women was estimated to be 28%. Most traditional remedies were used in the third trimester to quicken delivery. The majority of women used holy water and unknown Traditional Medicine during pregnancy. There was a strong association between age and Traditional Medicine utilisation as older women are 13 times more likely to use Traditional Medicine than younger ones. Women use traditional medicine for different purposes during pregnancy, and older women's likelihood to use Traditional Medicine is higher than their counterparts. The traditional system plays an essential role in antenatal care; therefore, there is a need to conduct further studies on the efficacy and safety of utilising Traditional Medicines.

Nutritional factors associated with distribution of Mopani Worms in Mopani woodlands in Tsholotsho and Gwanda Districts, Zimbabwe: A comparative survey.

Mopani worms are abundant in Gwanda and sporadic in Tsholotsho though the two areas have similar climatic conditions. The study sought to determine nutritional factors that could be associated with distribution of Mopani worms in these two districts. Ten sampling points in undisturbed Mopani woodlands were established in each district. Samples were collected and analysed in the lab to determine the levels of crude protein, tannin and natural detergent fibres levels in leaves and pH, Nitrates, Phosphates and Potassium levels in soil and Welch's test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, Analysis of Variance and the Bonferroni Confidence Intervals were employed to test for significance in the observed differences. Findings showed differences in tree size and leaf length whilst the differences of all other variables (non-extractible tannis, extractible tannis crude protein levels and natural detergent fibres) relating to leaf sample analysis were not statistically significant. Findings on soil sample analysis pointed out that Gwanda had higher pH, Phosphorus and Potassium levels whilst Nitrates were significantly higher in Tsholotsho. Differences in the tree sizes and leaf sizes of the samples from the two sites show that there could be host selection based on these variables.