Use of anti-emetic herbs in pregnancy: women's choices, and the question of safety and efficacy

Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery. 2004 Feb;10(1):30-6. doi: 10.1016/S1353-6117(03)00057-X.

Abstract

The majority of North American pregnant women experience some degree of nausea and vomiting, usually in the first few months of pregnancy. Women utilize many coping strategies, including self-treatment with herbal medicine and other alternative therapies. In a qualitative study of self-care in pregnancy, birth and lactation within a non-random sample of 27 women in British Columbia, Canada, 20 women (74%) experienced pregnancy-induced nausea. Ten of these women used anti-emetic herbal remedies, which included ginger, peppermint, and Cannabis. The safety and efficacy of each of these herbal remedies is discussed here. Only ginger has been subjected to clinical trials among pregnant women, though all three herbs were clinically effective against nausea and vomiting in other contexts, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and post-operative nausea. While safety concerns exist in the literature for all three herbs with regards to their use by pregnant women, clinical evidence of harm is lacking.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antiemetics / therapeutic use*
  • British Columbia
  • Cannabis
  • Female
  • Health Care Surveys
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Mentha piperita
  • Nausea / drug therapy*
  • Patient Participation
  • Phytotherapy* / methods
  • Plant Preparations / therapeutic use*
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications / drug therapy*
  • Self Care
  • Vomiting / drug therapy*
  • Zingiber officinale

Substances

  • Antiemetics
  • Plant Preparations