Comparing ginger and vitamin B6 for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: a randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

to compare the effectiveness of ginger and vitamin B6 for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy.

METHODS:

double-blind randomised controlled trial. Pregnant women with nausea, who first attended the antenatal clinic at or before 17 weeks gestation, were invited to participate in the study. Over a 3-month period, 70 women were randomised to receive either ginger 1g/day or vitamin B6 40 mg/day for 4 days. Subjects graded the severity of their nausea using a visual analogue scale, and recorded the number of vomiting episodes in the 24 hours before treatment and during 4 consecutive days while taking treatment. At 7-day follow-up, women reported any changes in the severity of their symptoms.

RESULTS:

compared with baseline, the decrease in the visual analogue scores of post-therapy nausea in the ginger group was significantly greater than that for the vitamin B6 group (p = 0.024). The number of vomiting episodes decreased in both groups, and there was no significant difference between the groups. In the ginger group, 29/35 women reported an improvement in nausea symptoms, compared with 23/34 women in the vitamin B6 group (p = 0.52).

CONCLUSION:

ginger is more effective than vitamin B6 for relieving the severity of nausea, and is equally effective for decreasing the number of vomiting episodes in early pregnancy.

• Authors: Jenabi Ensiyeh, Mohammad-Alizadeh C Sakineh
• Journal: Midwifery (Midwifery) Vol. 25 Issue 6 Pg. 649-53 (Dec 2009) ISSN: 1532-3099 [Electronic] Scotland
• PMID: 18272271 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Chemical References

• Antiemetics
• Vitamin B 6

Topics

• Adult
• Antiemetics (administration & dosage)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Double-Blind Method
• Female
• Ginger
• Humans
• Nausea (drug therapy)
• Phytotherapy (methods)
• Pregnancy
• Pregnancy Complications (drug therapy)
• Treatment Outcome
• Vitamin B 6 (administration & dosage)
• Vomiting (drug therapy)
• Women's Health
• Young Adult