No cures for morning sickness

Only morning sickness can make a pregnant woman feel so miserable at one of the most exciting times in her life.

For those who have never experienced it, morning sickness is the term used to describe the nausea and vomiting which can occur in the early stages of pregnancy. Despite the name, the symptoms can occur at any time of the day.

More than half of all pregnant women suffer from it, and many seek out 'natural remedies,' to try to relieve the symptoms. But do any of them actually work?

Scientists from the highly respected Cochrane library looked at 27 studies involving more than 4,000 pregnant women, who were up to 20 weeks pregnant.

Six of the studies used acupressure and two used acupuncture for the relief of morning sickness. But the scientists found there were 'no significant differences' between women who had received the techniques and control groups.

One study of acustimulation - in which a mild electric current is applied to acupuncture points - did report some improvement over three weeks.

The researchers said there was 'limited evidence' of an effect ginger had in relieving nausea, as there was for vitamin B6, antihistamines and antiemetic (anti-vomiting) drugs, including the antenatal drug Debendox.

In fact, some of the treatments made the women feel worse. Ginger caused heartburn in some people, and others experienced drowsiness when taking anti-vomiting drugs.

Dr Anne Matthews, of the School of Nursing at Dublin City University, said: "A number of the studies we looked at appeared to show benefits, but in general the results were inconsistent and it was difficult to draw firm conclusions about any one treatment in particular."

"We were also unable to obtain much information about whether these treatments are actually making a difference to women's quality of life."

"Despite the wealth of different treatments available, it is not possible currently to identify with confidence any safe and effective interventions for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy."

This article was published on Wed 8 September 2010