Silver Leaf During Pregnancy in French Guiana : Use and Impact on Health

French Guiana's ethnomedicines use is still very dynamic, with a significant level of herbal medicine use per inhabitant (17.6 citations of use per inhabitant surveyed) and the continual integration of new species into the local medicinal flora. Over a period of 30 years, studies noted significant changes and mutations in plant-based care methods, favored by a significant intercultural mix (close border areas and migrant population from the Caribbean and South America).

The species Ocotea guianensis Aublet (Lauraceae), known in French Guiana as 'feuille d'argent' (féy darjan in Creole, silvon leaf in english), is used locally to facilitate childbirth. This use (a decoction of leaves administered to parturients as a sitz bath) among the Palikur (an indigenous Amerindian people from northern Amapá in Brazil and eastern French Guiana) and coastal Creoles. This use has been observed more recently by Tareau (2020) among Haitian and Guyanese Creole women According to a preliminary study by a perinatal network in French Guiana, cases of acute foetal distress at the time of delivery and post-partum haemorrhage have been observed in pregnant women who have used silver leaf decoctions, without a statistical or pathophysiological link being formally established.

From an epidemiological point of view, the frequency of use of Silver Leaf Decoctions (SLD) and the medical consequences of this use during childbirth and the immediate post-partum period have not been quantified in French Guiana. Although health-care providers have observed that some women use SLDs when certain pathological events occur during childbirth, no study has demonstrated a definite link between SLDs and complicated childbirth.

The profile of users, the ways in which SLDs are used during pregnancy, and their impact on childbirth, uterine contractions and the immediate post-partum period also need to be clarified. The perception and representations of this practice from the point of view of caregivers are also elements to be taken into consideration.

The research hypothesis is that the use of silver leaf by parturients in French Guiana is frequent and could have an impact on pregnancy outcomes (prolonged labor, ineffective contractions, perinatal pain, cardio-fetal rhythm abnormalities, post-partum hemorrhage...).