London - Women with morning sickness are to be routinely prescribed drugs by GPs rather than being dismissed and left to suffer in silence.
Many women struggle through pregnancy with debilitating nausea and vomiting as treatments are not widely prescribed to ease the condition, with doctors often reluctant as they can cost the NHS up to £400 a month.
But in major new guidelines announced today, 'Ps are to be urged to help women even with mild morning sickness that prevents them getting on with their daily routines.
They have been drawn up following concerns by charities that hundreds of thousands of women are suffering and, at worst, every year hundreds abort their babies as their sickness is so severe.
An estimated 80 per cent of the 700,000 women who fall pregnant in England and Wales each year get morning sickness, typically occurring in the first three months.
Of these, about one in 50 (2 per cent) have a severe form, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). This affected the Duchess of Cambridge during both her pregnancies and even saw her hospitalised while pregnant with Prince George in 2012.
Today’s guidelines by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) are the first of their kind to specifically address morning sickness and urge doctors to routinely prescribe pills.
Experts say it is currently ‘pot luck’ as to whether women are offered treatment and many are told to just ‘not think about it’ by GPs and midwives.
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But even offering drugs to only those with the most severe symptoms for three months would cost the NHS tens of millions of pounds each year.
Dr Manjeet Shehmar, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Birmingham Women’s Hospital and lead author of the guidelines, said: ‘It’s pot luck as to the kind of care you receive.
There is a lack of understanding and an element of dismissing the symptoms as “just a bit of morning sickness”. There are many women who suffer in silence.
‘It is a significant number. These guidelines will make a huge difference to the way a lot of women are treated.’ The guidance tells doctors to prescribe anti-sickness pills including doxylamine which costs £400 a month. It also recommends eating raw ginger, or ginger biscuits – a natural remedy which eases symptoms.
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Caitlin Dean, 33, who set up the charity Pregnancy Sickness Support after suffering from HG, said: ‘These guidelines put to rest the notion you just need to “not think about it” or “think positively”. Increasingly, research shows that without effective treatment the condition can have life-long effects for mum and baby, which is why the early, effective treatment advocated in these guidelines is so vital.’
Professor Alan Cameron, vice-president of RCOG, said the condition affected ‘many women at a crucial time in their lives’. He added: ‘This will ensure they receive the best possible care and support.’
* The UK must do more to prevent deaths among pregnant women and new mothers, leading doctors have warned.
The nation faces a ‘challenge’ in reducing deaths from pre-existing conditions such as heart defects that are not directly related to pregnancy, RCOG experts said.
RCOG president Dr David Richmond said: ‘Giving healthcare professionals advice for better assessment of unwell pregnant women is crucial in the fight to prevent deaths.’
Daily Mail