Study suggests drug is safe for morning sickness

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-11 11:50

Despite the millions of births each year — about 4 million in the U.S. alone — there still have been no large, well-designed studies on the safety of medicines in treating morning sickness, mainly due to fears of harming a fetus and triggering lawsuits.

The Israeli study, led by researchers at Ben-Gurion University, included pregnant women enrolled in Israel's largest HMO from 1998 through 2007.

It compared the health of newborns of 3,458 women who took metoclopramide, for as little as a week to more than three weeks, with 78,245 newborns of women who had not used it. Rates of problems were low and similar in both groups.

The safety finding may reassure women, who often are more cautious than their doctors about using a drug during pregnancy, said Dr. Laura Riley, a Massachusetts General Hospital obstetrician and spokeswoman for the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine.

"For some who are on the fence, it'll allow them to take it," she said.

In the U.S., other drugs — Compazine, Phenergan and Zofran — are generally used more often than Reglan, which is made by Schwarz Pharma Inc. of Smyrna, Ga. The new study should lead obstetricians to prescribe it more often, some experts said.

Until now, doctors have only assumed it is safe, based on a couple small studies and the lack of reports of serious problems, said Dr. Jeffrey Chapa, head of maternal fetal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

Metoclopramide, which works by speeding emptying of the stomach and reducing heartburn, can have side effects, including sedation, insomnia, depression and anxiety.

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