A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that a popular drug prescribed during pregnancy for morning sickness symptoms does not cause complications with fetuses.
Researchers studied ondansetron, an antiemetic medication to help pregnant women who are experiencing symptoms like nausea and vomiting, and found that the drug is not associated with a high risk of adverse fetal events.
The study's research included data from 608,385 medical records of pregnancies and related prescriptions from Danish registries between Jan. 1, 2004 and March 31, 2011.
"Our findings that pregnant women who were exposed to ondansetron were at a significantly lower risk for spontaneous abortion as compared with unexposed women, but at a similar risk as compared with women exposed to an antihistamine, support the conclusions that nausea and vomiting, rather than the treatment of these conditions with ondansetron, are associated with a lower risk of spontaneous abortion," the study's researchers reported.
Women who were exposed to ondansetron were not shown to be at an increased risk for spontaneous abortion as the rate was 1.1 percent as compared to the 3.7 percent in women who did not take the antiemetic drug.
And out of 1,915 exposed women, six stillbirths were recorded while 27 stillbirths were reported among 7,660 unexposed women.
Stillbirths were also not shown to be a fetal complication associated with ondansetron according to the research that showed that out of 1,915 exposed women, 6 stillbirths were recorded. And out of 7,660 unexposed women, 27 stillbirths were reported.
Similar rates existed for major birth defects, preterm deliveries and low birth weight when comparing exposed and unexposed pregnant women.
The researchers said that while their findings are not entirely conclusive they "definitely rule out the possibility of adverse effects in association with ondansetron, the results do provide reassurance regarding the use of this agent for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy."
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