AIM: To determine the use and teratogenicity of herbal medicinal products (HMP). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in a University hospital to compare the difference in the pattern of use and fetal outcomes between pregnant women who took HMP and Western pharmaceutical products (WPP). RESULTS: From 1995 Jan to 2001 Dec, 61 and 372 women took HMP and WPP one month before or during their current pregnancies respectively. There was an increase in the prevalence of pregnant women who took HMP from 0 % in 1995 to 0.8 % in 2001. Among HMP users, 51.6 %, 82.8 % and 58.6 % of them had low monthly family income (<15 000), low education level (secondary education or below) and were unemployed respectively. In comparison to WPP, pregnant women used smaller number of HMP (1.4 vs 3.0, P<0.01) at a later gestation (4.8 weeks vs 3.1 weeks, P <0.01) and within a shorter duration (11.1 d vs 47.9 d, P<0.01). The prevalence of congenital fetal abnormalities in the group of women who took HMP (3.3 %) was not sig
