Your Body Medications to Help Ease Morning Sickness By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH twitter linkedin Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH is a professor, author, childbirth and postpartum educator, certified doula, and lactation counselor. Learn about our editorial process Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Alyssa Dweck, MD on January 19, 2020 linkedin Alyssa Dweck, MD, MS, is a board-certified gynecologist and an assistant clinical professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Learn about our Review Board Alyssa Dweck, MD Updated on August 26, 2020 Print Medication for morning sickness is usually the last resort. There are many non-medicinal things that you should try before looking at medication for morning sickness. When these fail, you should talk to your midwife or doctor about using medication for morning sickness to help you through the worst of it. The good news is that there is help available for women with extreme sickness. In fact, there are two types of medication for morning sickness: over the counter medication and prescription medication. The one medication for you is one that you and your practitioner decide on. Stay Calm Mom: Episode 5 Watch all episodes of our Stay Calm Mom video series and follow along as our host Tiffany Small talks to a diverse group of women and top doctors to get real answers to the biggest pregnancy questions. 6:39 What Does Morning Sickness Feel Like? Over-the-Counter Medications for Morning Sickness Over the counter medications don't require a prescription. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the guidance of the practitioner you're seeing for your prenatal care. There isn't just one morning sickness pill you can take and have your nausea and vomiting disappear, but some of these have been helpful to some people. Vitamin B6Reflux medications (Pepcid)EmetrolUnisom Nighttime Sleep Aid (not the SleepGels) combined with vitamin B6Some herbal substances, such as ginger Even though there some products for morning sickness do not require a prescription from your healthcare provider, you should always communicate with your practitioner about your symptoms and any products that you take to relieve them. Prescription Medications for Morning Sickness If you are really struggling and other over the counter morning sickness pills haven't helped, your practitioner may decide that prescription medication is the best option for you. DiclegisZofran (expensive, not always covered by insurance)Phenergan (pill and suppository form)CompazineReglan (metoclopramide)Corticosteroids (dexamethasone) There are also IV medications and other medications used to treat hyperemesis gravidarum, severe morning sickness, often requiring hospitalization. "Without the medication, I couldn't have continued," explains one mom. "It was really a lifesaver. I was just within hours of being hospitalized." Medications are not used for the entire pregnancy unless symptoms persist that long. You and your practitioner can talk about what the best plan is for your pregnancy. Medications are the last line of defense for most mothers and practitioners. The first trimester, when most morning sickness occurs is a very delicate time in terms of fetal development. You want to avoid as many medical interventions as possible, while still being able to maintain your life and employment in a way that is manageable to your family. If medication winds up being the right path for you, try not to stress about it once the decision is made. Try to relax, knowing you've done your research and hope that you get some sweet relief from the morning sickness medication. Products to Help With Morning Sickness Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Ebrahimi N, Maltepe C, Einarson A. Optimal management of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Int J Womens Health. 2010;2:241-8. doi:10.2147/ijwh.s6794 Nuangchamnong N, Niebyl J. Doxylamine succinate-pyridoxine hydrochloride (Diclegis) for the management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: an overview. Int J Womens Health. 2014;6:401-9. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S46653