For as long as women have been having children, morning sickness has been an issue. As most pregnant women can attest to, the name "morning sickness" is actually a misnomer because it can happen any time during the day, or all day long.
But now women suffering from morning sickness can get some medical help from the drug Diclegis. The Food and Drug Administration recently re-approved Diclegis after it was forced off the market 30 years ago.
Diclegis is the generic form of the product called Bendectin. Bendectin was approved initially in 1956 and pulled from the market in 1983 amidst claims that it caused birth defects.
Those claims have since been dismissed despite lawsuits that were brought against the manufacturer because the women said it harmed their children. This was never scientifically proven.
The original drug was not pulled from the market because of the FDA or because the manufacturing company believed it was dangerous or ineffective. They did not have the funds to fight the many lawsuits so they quietly withdrew the drug from the market. It was the only drug specifically manufactured to treat morning sickness.
Diclegis and Bendectin both consist of two main ingredients: doxylamine succinate, which can be found in some over-the-counter antihistamines and the sleep aid Unisom; and pyroxidine hydrochloride, also called vitamin B6.
Diclectin will come in the form of a single pill and will be available in the United States in June 2013 by prescription only. Most doctors agree it will be prescribed as a first line defense to treat morning sickness.
Morning sickness is something that affects many pregnant women. In fact, 75 percent of pregnant women will experience nausea or vomiting due to the hormonal surges in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Currently, most women manage their symptoms by changing their dietary habits, eating smaller meals throughout the day, or incorporating ginger into their diet.
In about 1 percent of pregnancies, hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe morning sickness occurs. This serious condition develops when the morning sickness is so severe that the mom-to-be needs to be hospitalized and treated with intravenous fluids. It was recently in the news as Princess Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, suffered from this condition.
Morning sickness can be a minor annoyance for a few weeks or a debilitating condition that can be brutal on the mother. With the FDA approving this new version of the morning sickness drug, mothers-to-be can now get help if they want it.
Sources:
MSN.com. Web. 9 April 2013. "FDA Oks first drug for morning sickness".
http://news.msn.com/science-technology/fda-oks-first-drug-for-morning-sickness-in-decades
Huffingtonpost.com. Web. 9 April 2013. "FDA approves return of drug for morning sickness."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/fda-approves-return-of-dr_0_n_3041856.html
Reviewed April 11, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith