During pregnancy it is very common to experience nausea and vomiting; in fact, it is estimated that up to 85% of pregnant women suffer from them. The problem is that, although they are usually mild in 80-90% of cases, some women develop what is known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), and it is estimated that up to 10% of the desired pregnancies in which this appears disorder are interrupted due to excruciating symptoms and complications.
Treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum can be complicated because giving medications to pregnant women can pose a risk to the developing fetus. But a new study involving 352 pregnant women has found that using acupuncture or the drug doxylamine-pyridoxine relieves moderate to severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, and that combining the two treatments provides greater relief.
The most effective therapy to reduce nausea and vomiting in the first trimester
The trial was conducted by researchers from the First Affiliated Hospital, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, and Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital, Harbin, China. Participants were in early pregnancy and suffered from moderate to severe nausea and vomiting, and were randomly divided into two groups to receive daily active or sham acupuncture for 30 minutes or doxylamine-pyridoxine or placebo, or a combination of both therapies , for a period of 14 days.
Acupuncture could be a useful alternative for patients with moderate or severe nausea and vomiting who are unwilling to use pharmacological treatments during pregnancy.
The aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of either intervention, or the combination of both, and the investigators found that active acupuncture and doxylamine-pyridoxine achieved slightly greater effects than sham acupuncture and placebo, respectively, in reducing the severity of symptoms and improve the quality of life of these pregnant women. However, combining both treatments obtained numerically greater benefits than each of the treatments separately.
The researchers note that doctors may prescribe fewer anti-nausea drugs because of their potential risks of causing birth defects, so acupuncture could be a useful alternative for patients with moderate or severe nausea and vomiting who are unwilling to use pharmacological treatments during pregnancy. Their findings have been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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