Positive Health Online

Abstract

KEATING and CHEZ, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FLA, USA, advocate Ginger syrup as an antiemetic in early pregnancy.

Background

Ginger has been used to ameliorate symptoms of nausea. A beverage containing ginger in a syrup may be easier to consume than a capsule or solid food. This study was carried out in order to determine if ginger syrup is an effective remedy for nausea and vomiting in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Methodology

Double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of 26 women in the first trimester of pregnancy. They ingested 1 tablespoon of ginger syrup or placebo diluted with water 4 times daily. Duration and severity of nausea and vomiting over a 2-week period were measured on a 10-point scale.

Results

After 9 days, 10 of 13 (77%) of women receiving ginger had at least a 4-point improvement on the nausea scale. Only 2 of the 10 (20%) of placebo subjects had the same improvement. Conversely, no woman in the ginger group but 7 (70%) in the placebo group had less than a 2-point improvement on the nausea scale. 8 of 12 (67%) women in the ginger group who had been vomiting daily before treatment stopped by day 6. Only 2 of the 10 women in the placebo group who were vomiting daily (20%) stopped by day 6.

Conclusion

The ingestion of 1 gram of ginger in syrup may be useful in some patients experiencing nausea and vomiting in the first trimester of pregnancy.

References

Keating A, Chez RA. Ginger syrup as an antiemetic in early pregnancy. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 8 (5): 89-91, Sep-Oct 2002.

Comment

Ginger is widely used for alleviation of nausea in early pregnancy; however, its use in pregnancy was contra-indicated (on theoretical safety grounds) by a prominent UK researcher because of the lack of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrating its lack of toxicity for pregnant women. Additionally, any treatment at all, even massage or reflexology, of any pregnant women in her first trimester was contraindicated (again, on grounds that if anything happened to the foetus, the practitioner could be sued), according to a recent article in guidelines published in an article in a journal of a leading UK association! I guess that, on safety grounds, pregnant women should just suffer, which appears to go counter to the entire ethic of helping women using natural, non-drug treatments. We appear to be living in a Kafka-esque society. I long for the return of common sense and good practice.