Preventing recurrence of severe morning sickness.

QUESTION

A recent Motherisk article showed that initiating antinauseants even before symptoms start could prevent recurrence of severe morning sickness. In the study described, however, different physicians used different drugs. How can one be sure which drugs work?

ANSWER

The study of 26 women who had had severe morning sickness during previous pregnancies showed that using antiemetics before symptoms of morning sickness started appeared to prevent recurrence of severe morning sickness in subsequent pregnancies. Physicians in the United States used various antinauseant drugs. Physicians in Canada administered only one drug, the combination of doxylamine-pyridoxine (Diclectin), to 12 women. Subanalysis of these 12 women revealed that pre-emptive use of doxylamine-pyridoxine significantly decreased the likelihood that severe morning sickness would recur.