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Medications to Treat Morning Sickness?
Q. I'm pregnant, and throwing up several times a day. Are there medications to treat morning sickness that are safe for my baby?
A. Congratulations on your pregnancy!
"Morning sickness", more commonly known to health care professionals as Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy (NVP) is a very common symptom in early pregnancy. Most women will experience nausea with or without vomiting during the first trimester. However, there are some lucky women (about 20%) that are spared of this bothersome problem.
Although many refer to it as "Morning Sickness", it is unusual to experience pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting solely in the morning hours. Unfortunately it is spread out throughout the day.
Aside from making you feel crumby and making it difficult to go to work or school, nausea and vomiting in pregnancy can be harmful to your health and the health of the baby. Vital nutrients and fluids are absorbed through your stomach and gastrointestinal system. Nausea and vomiting can prevent you from either ingesting these nutrients or digesting them because they can't be kept down. Throughout the pregnancy, but particularly in the first trimester, the baby is dependent on mom to deliver important vitamins, minerals, nutrients and fluids in order to grow into a health infant. Thus nausea and vomiting in pregnancy should not be ignored particularly if it is severe and prevening you from eating and drinking properly
Firstly, if you are not taking prenatal vitamins, you should start right away. Ideally women should take prenatal vitamins regularly throughout childbearing age. Otherwise, one can start at least a month before pregnancy. This ensures the vitamins and minterals the baby needs are there during the very important first trimester. Be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist about prenatal vitamins. The multivitamin product you choose should have at least 1 mg (milligram) of folic acid. Aside from delivering vital substances to baby-to-be, prenatal vitamins have been shown to decrease the symptoms associated with nause and vomiting in pregnancy.
There are some non-drug measures that might also help to reduce your symptoms:
1) Try eating smaller, more frequent meals
2) Eat less spicy, more bland foods
3) Avoid fatty foods
4) Avoid foods with strong odours
5) Try to get more rest
6) Drink plenty of fluids, especially to replace that lost through vomiting
If these non-drug measures do not help, medications are the next step. To treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, most family doctors, obstetricians and pharmacists recommend a combination of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and doxylamine (an antihistamine). This combination has been extensively studied and is known to be safe and effective in pregnancy. The combination of pyridoxine 10 mg and doxylamine 10 mg is available in Canada as a product called Diclectin. Most women will take one tablet in the morning, one in the afternoon and 2 at night. However, this may be higher or lower, depending on the doctors instructions and your symptoms. If you do not have access to this combination product, speak to your doctor or pharmacist about getting a similar dose from the individal ingredients.
Most pregnant women will respond to the non drug and drug related measures mentioned above. If you're still experiencing symptoms, you should speak with your doctor. There are other alternatives available to treat your symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
For more information about treatment and prevention of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy... Ask Your Pharmacist!
See the Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) Morning Sickness Website for more even more information.