Is Phenergan Safe During Pregnancy

Pregnant women may wonder, “Is Phenergan safe during pregnancy?” Severe morning sickness is a serious health concern for pregnant woman and taking anti-nausea medication is often a necessity. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 60 to 70 percent of pregnant woman experience nausea and vomiting during their first three months of pregnancy. The most severe form of pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting, hyperemesis gravidarum, affects up to 2 percent of pregnant woman and can cause severe weight loss, dehydration, and pregnancy loss in very severe cases. Phenergan is the drug most often prescribed to control pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting.

Phenergan is used to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnant women.

Promethazine, the active ingredient in Phenergan, is an antihistamine. This means that it blocks histamine from binding to receptor sites in the brain. One of these receptor sites in the brain is specifically responsible for causing nausea and vomiting when it receives certain nerve messages from other areas of the body. The promethazine prevents messages from reaching the “vomiting center” by blocking the histamine receptor sites. With the signal unable to reach the vomiting center, feelings of nausea and vomiting dissipate.

Promethazine causes intense drowsiness because of how easily it crosses the blood-brain barrier. It is very effective as both an anti-nausea medication and a mild sedative.

In 1979, the United States Food and Drug Administration introduced a classification system for the use of pharmaceuticals during pregnancy. Drugs are classified as categories A, B, C, D, or X. Phenergan is a category C drug, although the detailed labeling information for Phenergan notes only that consistent overdosing of rats causes fetal mortality.

Some research has shown that the use of Phenergan during labor can cause respiratory difficulties in newborn babies and can also lead to clotting problems for babies. Despite these risks, the FDA still lists “sedation during childbirth” as one of the approved uses of Phenergan. It is interesting to note that the FDA has strongly warned doctors against the use of promethazine in children two and under because of evidence that it causes serious and sometimes fatal breathing problems.

The labeling information also mentions that Phenergan does not appear to lengthen labor when used alone or with other anesthesia and does not seem to require added interventions for newborn babies after birth. One study of 260 pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum from the American Journal of Human Genetics did show that Phenergan was more strongly associated with late pregnancy loss than with relief from hyperemesis symptoms.

No medication should be used during pregnancy unless it’s really necessary. That said, unrelenting nausea and vomiting can be a life-shattering experience for a pregnant woman. Hyperemesis gravidarum can make a woman so ill that she is not even able to get out of bed and she may lose a significant amount of weight. Obviously, this type of extreme weight loss can negatively affect a baby’s ability to grow while in the womb and is a serious health problem for both mom and baby.

The lack of any definitive information on available treatments, including Phenergan, can be very frustrating for pregnant woman trying to make decisions with her doctor about the best method of treating severe pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. If Phenergan controls nausea and vomiting for a pregnant woman at a reasonable dose and allows her to eat enough to gain weight and help her baby grow normally, the benefit of using the medicine may be worth the potential risks. Phenergan has not been shown to be at all unsafe for pregnant women themselves, so aside from the extreme sleepiness it causes, negative effects for moms should be minimal.

When a doctor tells a pregnant woman that Phenergan is safe during pregnancy, she may trust that her doctor knows what’s best for her and her baby. She may also assume that he is aware of the current research relating to the treatment of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, but it’s always a good idea for any patient to do a little independent research before agreeing blindly to a new medication. This way, a pregnant woman can have an informed discussion after asking "is Phenergan safe during pregnancy."

Pregnant woman need to make informed decisions about their health and the health and safety of their unborn babies, and the best way to become informed is to find out what scientific studies say about the proposed treatment. This way, pregnant women are empowered to make decisions with their doctor, rather than simply handing over responsibility for her baby and body to someone else.

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