Your Body Medications to Help Ease Morning Sickness By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH LinkedIn Twitter Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH is a professor, author, childbirth and postpartum educator, certified doula, and lactation counselor. Learn about our editorial process Updated on June 14, 2021 Medically reviewed by Alyssa Dweck, MD Medically reviewed by Alyssa Dweck, MD LinkedIn Alyssa Dweck, MD, MS, is a board-certified gynecologist and an assistant clinical professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She provides care to women of all ages, and she has delivered thousands of babies. Learn about our Medical Review Board 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 B6 Reflux medications (Pepcid, Tums) Emetrol Unisom Nighttime Sleep Aid (not the SleepGels) combined with vitamin B6 Some 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. Morning Sickness Relief Products 2 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 By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH is a professor, author, childbirth and postpartum educator, certified doula, and lactation counselor. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit