Nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy

Festin et al., 2007 | BMJ Clin Evid | Systematic Review

Citation

Festin Mario. Nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. BMJ Clin Evid. 2007-Apr-01;2007

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: More than half of pregnant women suffer from nausea and vomiting, which typically begins by the fourth week and disappears by the sixteenth week of pregnancy. The cause of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is unknown, but may be due to the rise in human chorionic gonadotrophin concentration. In 1 in 200 women, the condition progresses to hyperemesis gravidarum, which is characterised by prolonged and severe nausea and vomiting, dehydration, and weight loss. METHODS AND OUTCOMES: We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of treatment for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy? What are the effects of treatments for hyperemesis gravidarum? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to September 2006 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). RESULTS: We found 22 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions. CONCLUSIONS: In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: acupressure, acupuncture, antihistamines, corticosteroids, corticotrophins, diazepam, dietary interventions other than ginger, domperidone, ginger, metoclopramide, ondansetron, phenothiazines, and pyridoxine (vitamin B6).

Key Findings

We found 22 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

Outcomes Measured

Requires manual extraction

Population

Field	Value
Population	pregnant women
Sample Size	See abstract
Age Range	See abstract
Condition	See abstract

MeSH Terms

Nausea
Oils, Volatile
United States
Vomiting

Evidence Classification

Level: Systematic Review
Publication Types: Journal Article, Systematic Review
Vertical: vitamin-b6

Provenance

PMID: 19454064
DOI: (not available)
PMCID: Not in PMC
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Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09