Morning sickness drug may reduce terminations

THE first safe drug for morning sickness has been licensed in Britain in a breakthrough that could prevent hundreds of women aborting their babies because their pregnancy is unbearable.

In final clinical trials, Xonvea was found to reduce the amount of nausea by two thirds and cut sickness episodes from four a day to just one.

Previously doctors have been reluctant to prescribe anti-nausea drugs to pregnant women for fear of complications, leaving them with few options except traditional remedies.

Around 80 per cent of pregnant women report some kind of morning sickness and up to 2 per cent will suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form likened to the nausea caused by chemotherapy and which the Duchess of Cambridge suffered from.

According to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) around 1,000 pregnancies are terminated each year in Britain because women’s symptoms are so debilitating. Clare Murphy, the BPAS director of external affairs, said: “We welcome the news that, finally, a licence has been granted for a medication to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.

“We know that many women are simply told to put up with debilitating symptoms on the basis that no medication is safe in pregnancy, when in fact the risks of not treating may be significantly higher. Our hope is that a licensed product will give doctors confidence to prescribe.

“BPAS sees women whose sickness is so debilitating they are left with no choice but to terminate what is often a very much wanted pregnancy.”

Severe sickness is one of the most common reasons for pregnant women to be admitted into hospital.

In 2016-17, there were 33,071 hospital admissions in England, resulting in 36,171 bed days. Some women report throwing up 50 times a day and can suffer dehydration, low blood pressure and severe weight loss.