T
Toby Jones
Guest
Ginger Helpful for Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy CME
Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189:1374-1377
Jan. 6, 2004 — Ginger is safe and mildly effective for the treatment of nausea and vomiting of
pregnancy (NVP), according to the results of a prospective comparative study published in the
November issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"Many women are hesitant to take medicinal drugs for fear of harming the fetus, so consequently they
are often interested in nonmedicinal options such as acupressure, acupuncture, and ginger," write
Galina Portnoi, MD, from the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues. "Despite the
years of the use of ginger in many cultures, there remains little information regarding its safety
and efficacy during pregnancy."
The investigators compared pregnant women who were taking ginger during the first trimester of
pregnancy with a group of women who were exposed to nonteratogenic drugs that were not antiemetic
medications.
Of 187 pregnancies, there were 181 live births, two stillbirths, three spontaneous abortions, and
one therapeutic abortion. There were no significant differences in outcomes between the two groups,
except that more infants weighed less than 2,500 g in the comparison group (12 vs. 3; P </= .001).
In the group taking ginger, mean birth weight was 3,542 ± 543 g, mean gestational age was 39 ± 2
weeks, and there were three major malformations. Of 66 women who completed scores rating on a
scale of 0 to 10 how effective the ginger was for their nausea and vomiting, the mean score was
3.3 ± 2.9 SD.
Although the small sample size resulted in limited power to examine the rates of major
malformations, the authors concluded that ginger does not appear to increase the rates above the
baseline rate of 1% to 3%.
"The results also suggest that ginger is somewhat helpful in alleviating the symptoms of NVP, more
so with the capsules than any other preparation," they write. "This evidence-based information can
be helpful to women and their health professionals when making the decision regarding the treatment
of nausea and vomiting with ginger during pregnancy."
Duchesnay Inc. supported the Motherisk NVP Helpline used to enroll women in this study. Mead
Johnson/Canada also supported this study through an unrestricted grant.
News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD CME Author: Désirée Lie, MD, MSEd Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189:1374-
1377
Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189:1374-1377
Jan. 6, 2004 — Ginger is safe and mildly effective for the treatment of nausea and vomiting of
pregnancy (NVP), according to the results of a prospective comparative study published in the
November issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"Many women are hesitant to take medicinal drugs for fear of harming the fetus, so consequently they
are often interested in nonmedicinal options such as acupressure, acupuncture, and ginger," write
Galina Portnoi, MD, from the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues. "Despite the
years of the use of ginger in many cultures, there remains little information regarding its safety
and efficacy during pregnancy."
The investigators compared pregnant women who were taking ginger during the first trimester of
pregnancy with a group of women who were exposed to nonteratogenic drugs that were not antiemetic
medications.
Of 187 pregnancies, there were 181 live births, two stillbirths, three spontaneous abortions, and
one therapeutic abortion. There were no significant differences in outcomes between the two groups,
except that more infants weighed less than 2,500 g in the comparison group (12 vs. 3; P </= .001).
In the group taking ginger, mean birth weight was 3,542 ± 543 g, mean gestational age was 39 ± 2
weeks, and there were three major malformations. Of 66 women who completed scores rating on a
scale of 0 to 10 how effective the ginger was for their nausea and vomiting, the mean score was
3.3 ± 2.9 SD.
Although the small sample size resulted in limited power to examine the rates of major
malformations, the authors concluded that ginger does not appear to increase the rates above the
baseline rate of 1% to 3%.
"The results also suggest that ginger is somewhat helpful in alleviating the symptoms of NVP, more
so with the capsules than any other preparation," they write. "This evidence-based information can
be helpful to women and their health professionals when making the decision regarding the treatment
of nausea and vomiting with ginger during pregnancy."
Duchesnay Inc. supported the Motherisk NVP Helpline used to enroll women in this study. Mead
Johnson/Canada also supported this study through an unrestricted grant.
News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD CME Author: Désirée Lie, MD, MSEd Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189:1374-
1377