Morning sickness: no safe or effective relief, review finds
17 September 2010
Little can be done to effectively alleviate the symptoms of nausea in early pregnancy (‘morning sickness’), a Cochrane review has concluded.
(Cochrane reviews are conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation aimed at helping people make well-informed decisions about healthcare by undertaking scientific reviews of evidence for certain treatments.)
The review of 27 randomised trials, including 4041 women in early pregnancy, concluded that no reliably safe and effective treatments are available for morning sickness (Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010; 9: CD007575).
The trials had examined a number of treatments, including acupuncture, ginger, vitamin B6, antihistamines and antiemetic (anti-vomiting) drugs.
“High-quality, consistent evidence is lacking” for any of these treatments, the reviewers said.
Last Reviewed: 17 September 2010
- 1. Matthews A, Dowswell T, Haas DM, et al. Interventions for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010; 9: CD007575. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007575.pub2. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD007575/frame.html (accessed 27 Sep 2010).
