If you’ve been pregnant for a few months, you probably know the routine. Wake up, smell your partner’s breakfast cooking, and spend the next 10 minutes in the bathroom retching. Morning sickness is actually the most common medical condition that pregnant women face, and approximately 80% of childbearing women deal with it every day. There is almost humor in the fact that it’s called “morning” sickness, as it can actually occur at any time of day for many women. Most women actually wish that it were aptly named. Calling morning sickness, or Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy (NVP) inconvenient is an understatement, but most women simply put up with it without treatment for fear of harming their child’s development with medication. Luckily, a recent study shows that one of the most popular medications used to treat morning sickness does not in fact harm babies. Diclectin is a very popular medication that women who are experiencing morning sickness are often administered. Obviously, when you are pregnant, you never take any medication without wondering what types of negative effects it could have on your child. Knowing that you could negatively affect your child’s development for the rest of his or her life is probably enough to convince you to suffer instead of take any type of pill. A recent study did prove that Diclectin had absolutely no proven negative side effects on the babies whose mothers were taking it. So, if you are experiencing morning sickness throughout your day, give yourself a break and take Diclectin to reduce the symptoms. Of course, you should always consult your doctor before taking new medication, but at least know that if you are prescribed Diclectin, you can take it and reduce the symptoms of NVP. Strangely enough, studies show that children who are born to mothers with the symptoms of morning sickness tend to rate higher on intelligence scores than those who were not. There is much speculation surrounding why this occurs, but it might have something to do with the hormonal imbalance that causes nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. While this phenomenon requires further research, it should at least allow you to look at the cloud of morning sickness with a silver lining. Pregnancy can be a stressful and trying time for everyone involved, and nausea and vomiting will only make it worse, so don’t hesitate to take Diclectin next time you’re feeling sick. Source: Irena Nulman and Gideon Koren: Diclectin for Morning Sickness. Can Fam Physician Volume 57 Issue 2 pp. 193-194 February 2011