Objective: This study reviewed clinical trials conducted on the effect of herbal medicines on managing postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). To address the critical need for effective and safe interventions in PPH, this review synthesized existing evidence on the role of herbal medicines.
Materials and methods: This systematic review identified relevant articles published between 2000 and 2025 across multiple databases including the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT), Google Scholar, PubMed, Magiran, Scopus, and the Scientific Information Database. The search strategy employed keywords such as postpartum hemorrhage, PPH control, PPH prevention, phytotherapy, herbal medicine, complementary medicine, and traditional medicine. Article quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk-of-bias tool, and findings are reported qualitatively.
Results: This systematic review extracted 224 articles, of which 18 clinical trials met the inclusion criteria. These studies investigated 11 distinct herbal medicines: grape seed, ZB11, Matricaria chamomilla, Plantago major, Phoenix dactylifera, Anethum graveolens dhi, Shenghua decoction, Cuminum cyminum L, Urtica dioica, Capsella bursa-pastoris, and Rhus coriaria. The results suggest that the herbal medicines could be valuable for managing postpartum hemorrhage.
Conclusion: The herbal medicines reviewed in this study show promise in the prevention and control of postpartum hemorrhage. Further rigorous research is necessary to definitively establish their efficacy and safety in managing PPH.