Treating Morning Sickness

What’s the best way to ease the nausea and vomiting that often comes with pregnancy?

The joys of pregnancy are many, but morning sickness certainly isn’t one of them! It’s estimated that 50% of pregnant women have nausea and vomiting. Another 25% have nausea alone (Source: study). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists just released new recommendations on treating the condition, which can diminish quality of life, increase health care costs and lead to time out of work.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Based on consistent scientific evidence, the organization says the standard recommendation to take prenatal vitamins for 3 months before conception may reduce the incidence and severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.
• Mild cases may be resolved with lifestyle and dietary changes.
• Treatment with vitamin B6 or vitamin B6 plus doxylamine… an antihistamine… is safe and effective and should be considered first-line pharmaceutical therapy.
• Based on limited or inconsistent scientific evidence, the organization says treatment with ginger has shown beneficial effects in reducing nausea and can be considered as an option.

The new recommendations also support early treatment to prevent more serious complications, including hospitalization.