Vomiting in pregnancy si sometimes called morning sickness. The medical term for it is hyperemesis gravidarum. Whatever the name, it can be difficult to treat. Typically patients are given anti-emetics like cyclizine and metoclopramide. However this has never conclusively been proved to be safe and some countries, like the USA have never approved them.
However there is a safe alternative and evidence for it was first published in a medical journal in 1952. In this study 70 women were given Vitamin C (25mg) and Vitamin K3 (5mg) and within three days the morning sickness had gone in 91% of the women tested1. These had to be given at the same time or it didn’t work.
Today obtaining Vitamin K3 is difficult, as is obtaining such a low dose of Vitamin C. For this reason, Dr Jonathan Wright (from the renowned Tahoma Clinic) amended the treatment, started recommending Vitamin C (500mg) with Vitamin K1 (10-15mg) and he says it was successful in all his cases. Vitamin K1 can be difficult to obtain. My own experience is that this combination is not always successful but always worth a try.
Other useful remedies are ginger, Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine and Vitamin B12. Vitamin B6 at 50mg daily led to a highly significant improvement in one study.
- Merckel RL. The use of menandione bisulfite and ascorbic acid in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a preliminary report. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 1952; 64: 416-8
