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Gynacology and Health

Nausea and vomiting, pregnancies

Eat Swamp Dogwood For Morning Sickness?

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

June 30, 2002

How would you feel if you were suffering from the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) but your doctor said you must grin and bear it? Because there wasn't any safe drug available to fight this condition. And later you discover he was wrong. You'd have every right to be annoyed. Particularly if your illness had forced a termination of the pregnancy.

Mild forms of NVP adversely affect the quality of life for the patient and her family. But severe cases known as hyperemesis gravidarum can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance which can be life-threatening.

Morning sickness has been a problem for women for ages. It affects an many as 50 percent of pregnant women. And a variety of "voo doo tactics" have been employed in an effort to stop this disorder.

A report in The Medical Post claims that the Roman physician Soranus recommended that pregnant women with morning sickness punch a leather bag. If that failed her arms and legs should be bound and she be dunked in hot water! One wonders what fee he charged for that advice!

Other physicians over the years were less bold. Some advised women to eat, swamp dogwood, or wine of ipecac or an extract made from the alder tree, an ancient Indian remedy.

But the ancient world was not the only era to advocate wild ways to treat this disorder. Not too long ago a renowned Canadian Professor of Obstetrics believed that pernicious vomiting of pregnancy was "a neurotic manifestation".

His patients had to be hospitalized, husbands had to agree not to visit the patient until the vomiting had ceased for 48 hours. And rather than give the patient a vomit bowl she had to vomit in the bed! He claimed his cure had never failed.

Old studies have also suggested that NVP reflects a conscious or unconscious rejection of pregnancy. But present evidence does not support this view. After all, it's been shown that women will endure immense suffering before giving up a wanted pregnancy.

Their suffering is far from pleasant. Some women can vomit up to 15 times a day!

It's understandable that doctors are loathe to prescribe medication to pregnant women. The visions of limbless children following the thalidomide disaster are hard to erase from their minds.

Canada has a very unique program. Called "Motherisk" it's the brain child of Dr. Gideon Koren, a pediatrician at the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto. By calling 1-800-436-8477 patients in Canada and the U.S. can talk to trained counsellors about NVP. And doctors and patients in both countries can call 416-813-6780 to ask if a particular drug is safe for pregnant women.

In 1996 Motherisk advertised in newspapers, women's magazines and the electronic media in both Canada and the U.S. asking women to report their experience with NVP.

They discovered that women who had to terminate their pregnancies, or considered termination, had several behavioural characteristics.

Frequent symptoms were depression, frustration, hopelessness, isolation, feelings of being neglected by their husbands, and that the doctor was not taking their nausea and vomiting seriously. They also suffered fears of severe sickness and death.

During a two month period 1100 women were interviewed about their experience with NVP. 17 reported having to terminate an otherwise healthy pregnancy due to severe morning sickness.

Fortunately today there are humane and safe measures to treat morning sickness. Diclectin, an anti-nausea drug, is available in Canada and contains 10 milligrams (mg) of Vitamin B6 and 10 mg of doxylamine succinate. But it is not being fully utilized by physicians.

The recommended dose for daytime nausea and vomiting is two tablets at bedtime, one in the morning and another mid-afternoon. But, if symptoms emerge only in the morning two tablets at bedtime is usually sufficient.

Diclectin is not available in the U.S. But it is possible to get basically the same result by taking a tablet of Vit B6 along with "Unisom" which contains doxylamine succinate.

Unfortunately surveys show a grim picture of the medical management of this condition. As many as one-third of pregnant women are not being informed about the safety of Diclectin. It's usually due to the ignorance of medical staff in believing that common anti-nausea drugs cause birth defects. Or not realizing that Diclectin is the only drug approved by Health Canada for NVP.


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod