Morning Sickness, Will Phenergan Hurt My Baby?

Hello, with my daughter I was sick for 6 months of all day throwing up, I mean there was no time of the day that I felt good. It was horrible!!!! I told phenergan and it really didn't help so they gave me zofran which was expensive but my best friend. Finally something that made me feel normal again. I talked to my doctor and asked if it would harm or have any effects on my baby and they told me no. Which I had no problems with my labor and she had nothing wrong with her. So I hope I helped and Good luck!!!

Ginger tea and pepperming help with that. In addition, I've got another client who's had bad problems with morning sickness (all day long) and we got her doing the teas - ginger and peppermint. They helped, but it was still a problem. I then also recommended she start taking XOCAI, a healthy high antioxidant chocolate. Once she started that, she could definitely tell a difference. The combination of all of them helped her considerably.

To know more about the product....go to MXICORP.com. If you want to e-mail me or call me, feel free. I'm a XOCAI distributor, too.

I chewed on candied ginger and used Sea Bands (http://www.sea-band.com/seaband.htm) which both really helped. Good luck!

R.,

I cannot address the safety of Phenegren, however I can offer you my simple experience with fending off morning sickness. For the first trimester and a half of my pregnancy, I had major nausea. I don't know why they call it "morning sickness" because it occurred ALL DAY long, coming in waves! I found that the only thing that could keep it at bay was cinnamon flavored gum (like Big Red or any other brand)! I have no idea why, but it was pretty effective. I chewed it to prevent the nausea, not to treat it. Maybe it will help you,too. Good luck!

M.

I took Promethozine (generic for Phenergan) with both of my pregnancies. I had hyperemesis both times. Vomited for at least 30 weeks with both. The Phenergan would sometimes keep me from vomiting, but not always. I would get so sick that I couldn't get out of bed except to puke or pee. I was extremely dehydrated for the first trimester. I don't know of any adverse reactions to baby associated with taking it, but that doesn't mean there are none. I would talk to a pharmacist if you're really concerned about it.

There are some natural things you can do to help too. Try eating small meals several times a day. Eat crackers before getting up. Put a drop (and I literally mean ONE drop) of peppermint oil on the back of your hand to lick or smell occasionally. Ginger can also help. As hard as it can be (and definitely was for me), try to stay hydrated. It can help to drink water that is somewhat warm if I remember right. Either that, or suck on ice cubes. One other thing that I can think of right now is to use what are called sea bands. They are like fabric bracelets with a little knob thing on one side of them. You wear them so the knob is against a pressure point in your wrist. They are sometimes used for people who get seasick. You can find them online.

Hope that helps some. I know it can be really rough to be so sick, especially with other young ones around.

God bless,
A.

Hey, I had bad N/V with first pregnancy and took phenergan and had hyperemesis and had first phenergan then zofran pills then zofran pump (also hospitalized twice, hom eiv, and stuff with the hyperemesis) My son is wonderful and my baby girl is also "perfect". i'm sorry your son had hypospodias but i don't htink it was a result of the phenegen. I actually have several friends who have or are currently suffering from hyperemesis or NVP who were/are on phenergen, and those who've had their babies haven't had any problems so far. Hyperemesis is rough, and other then the meds, i don't know of anything else that helps. :(

Hi R.!
I too had the worst morning sickness with my 9 month old Kylie.
We had no life! I threw up at least 4-5 times a day, even when I hadn't eaten anything. I took Phenergan and my OB said it was completely safe. I tried it for two-four weeks and it barely helped my symptoms so I gave it up. Kylie is perfectly healthy and doing so well. So it didn't affect her at all.

I know how depressing, exhausting, and disgusting you feel. I send you much encouragement and prayers to get through the next couple of months. There were times where I didn't make it to the bathroom and managed to christen the garage, the sinks, the office floor...YOU NAME IT!!! I thought I was going to die. I lived on Gingerale but nothing seemed to work.

Hang in there and keep your eyes on the prise.

With my 2nd baby, I was sick all day, every day the entire 9 months! My doc never even brought phenergan up to me, but my mother (who is a PA) suggested I ask about it, because she remembered using it when preg with me. I asked and he prescribed, and I started taking it at about 5 months, it worked better than anything else did. We didn't have any negative side effects from it.

~note of encouragement: with babies 3 and 4 I did not experience NEARLY as much n/v, and it was over by 3 months :)

I have a friend who swears by Vit. B-6. She takes it at a slightly higher dose as prescribed by her doctor. I don't know the amount. I haven't heard anything wrong with Phenergan, but don't know for sure.
R.

I took phenegren with both of my prior pregnancies to control nausia and to control heartburn. I also took it after my first son was born to increase milk production. It is safe for you and the baby during pregnancy. If however you start to feel blue talk to your doctor. There is some concern with phenergan if you have depression.

I took phenegran with my first pregnancy, and it was a lifesaver!!! That daughter is now 8.5, and she is healthy as a horse. I highly recommend it. I was also worried about taking any kind of medication during my pregnancy, but as my OB told me, the effects of chronic morning sickness can be far more harmful to your baby than phenagren. I hope that gives you some peace of mind.

Congratulations on your baby-to-be!

I did not take the Phenergan but I did take the Zofran. I had to take it most of my entire pregnancy with my first child. She came out perfect! I absolutely could not have made it through without the Zofran. My friend took Phenergan throughout her pregnancy and her daughter is ok as well. I would get online and do some research. I can understand your concern though, it's always scary when you can possibly do something to damage your baby. My doctor always told me that the benefit of Zofran outweighed the risk. The baby would be more at risk from me not being able to eat, drink, etc. Good luck!

I took Phenergan during my first trimester with no problems (birth defects). Hopefully you won't have any this time either!! Good luck!

I had hg during my pregnancy with my daughter. It was so bad that it started at week 3 and didn't end until I was five months pregnant. I had to be put on home I.V. fluids and take them with me wherever I went because I was so dehydrated because I couldn't eat or drink anything. The only thing that got me through it was Zofran and phenergan. I used them in the I.V. form until I was able to take them orally at five months. I actually hated the phenergan because it made me hallucinate if I took too much. So, mostly I just did zofran. My baby was just fine. No defects at all. And I took that stuff for five months!
The other things that got me through were preggie pop drops (they sell them at babies r us and motherhood maternity) which are these sour candies that have vitamin b and other stuff that eases the nauseau. Don't wait too long if you feel dehydrated. They should get you some I.V. therapy so that you feel better. I would also take vitamin B-6 and 1/2 a unisom tablet every 4 to 6 hours when I needed it. It would make me sleepy, but it did help me feel better.

I hope this helps. if you want to read up so more on hg, you should check out helpher.org. It really helped me. It will get better, but, boy, do I feel for ya! Feel better soon. By the way, some women swear by those bands you wear on your wrists that are supposed to be for sea sickness, but I never had any luck with those.

Email me if you have any more questions.

A.

Try eating Good & Plenty candy R.. It calms the tummy and helps curb the morning sickness. I ate it all 9 months when i was pregnant with my first child way back in 1982. I also used it with the other 3. My mom used a medication that caused so many to have children with birth defects. Thank God my brother and i did not have any. So i was unwilling to try any medications at all that could some day be found to have adverse effets on unborn babies.

Hi R.!

Congrats on the pregnancy and I am sorry you feel so bad. I was sick through both of my pregnancies and I took Phenergan during both of them. I also took Zofran and Reglan during the 2nd pregnancy. I did not experience any birth defects with either of my children.

I am stopping at 2 kids for the same reason - I just can't handle another sick pregnancy. Good luck to you!!!

I gave birth to a son with hypospadia & I never took anything for morning sickness. I later found out it runs in my mom's family. You may want to check that out. I had 5 sons & only the 5th one had this.

R.,

I understand how you feel. I was sick everyday for the first 6 months of my pregnancy. I was sick all day long. I found that ginger snap cookies helped and crackers. I would keep a box of giner snap cookies by the bed and saltine crackers. Before I would even get out of bed I would eat a couple cookies or crackers and then I would be fine. When I didn't eat I was sicker than a dog. I found that the ginger snaps helped better than the crackers. Something in the ginger the helps with the nausa.

Good luck- it will be over before you know it- and is well worth the love of a new baby.

HI there,

I was very lucky and had no morning sickness with my son so I don't know about the drugs...however, Luca was born with hypospadias. He had surgery at 9 months. We asked our doctor about it and actually found out that it is genetic. Nobody in either of our immediate families had it (that we know of) but somewhere out there in our family tree it has probably happened. It is actually pretty common as 'birth defects' go, although we don't really consider it that. I would talk to your pediatrician and ob/gyn and read up on hypospadias if you're concerned. Our sons surgeon did tell us that since we had one son with it that our changes of another son being born with it were much higher than others, simply because of the genetics.

On a personal note, I'm very curious to find out how your son's pee pee is doing this far after the surgery. Our son looks pretty good although we do have to continue pushing back the skin around the head to make sure it doesn't heal back over. Any advise from you on this subject would be great :)

I work on the ob unit (not a nurse) but I know they prescribe it all the time. I was also told to take B6 I think it was too.

I have a 12 y.o. daughter & a 7 y.o. son. My pregnancies were polar opposites. I could do anything & everything with my daughter, but my son was a different story. I was hosptialized twice due to hyperemisis and dehydradation due to the amount of vomitting. I couldn't keep anything down and would even be sick if I hadn't had anything. By my fourth month, I had lost 16 lbs so they put me on phenegran. I didn't take it daily because it made me too sleepy. However, he didn't suffer any birth defects due to the medication. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon!

My Acupuncturist says acupuncture helps morning sickness, I didn't try it though (didn't need it).

R.,
I know how you feel. I was sick the whole pregnancy with my first child. I ended up on Zofran and it was the only thing that helped me after so long.
With my second child. I was only sick for a couple of months...listen to me ONLY...as if we want to be sick at all right???? :)
With my second child it did go away eventually, I hope that happens with you.
I did try vitamin B6 with 1/2 a Unisom pill. It helps with the morningsickness. You can only take so much a day.
Talk to your doctor about it. Most of them know about this now. Several of my friends and their doctors also recomended it for them etc...
Also, when we lived in Missouri there was a Pharmacy that had an Anti-Naseau capsule. I was able to have my doctor write me out a perscription for it and I picked it up. They also will deliver all across the country. Here is their information if you want to give it a try but you will have to have your doctor call it in for you.
Here's what they wrote: WE COMPOUND AN "ANTI-NAUSEA CAPSULE" THAT CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING: VITAMIN B-6, VITAMIN B-12, FOLIC ACID, CALCIUM CARBONATE, AND GINGER ROOT. WE HAVE MANY MORNING SICKNESS PATIENTS WHO HAVE USED IT WITH SUCCESS. YOU USE ONE CAPSULE 2-3 TIMES DAILY AS NEEDED. IT COSTS $30.00 FOR 30 CAPSULES; $55.00 FOR 60 CAPSULES; AND $80.00 FOR 90 CAPSULES.
WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE YOUR COMPOUNDING PHARMACY. WE SHIP ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND ACCEPT MOST INSURANCE PLANS FOR REIMBURSEMENT.
SINCERELY,
BELLEVUE PHARMACY SOLUTIONS
1034 SOUTH BRENTWOOD BLVD. SUITE 102
ST.LOUIS, MO. 63117
800-728-0288 OR ###-###-####
FAX 800-458-9182 OR ###-###-####
www.bpharmacysolutions.com

Here is a list of the ingredients and how much they used.
B-6 = 25 mg
B-12 = 12 micro grams
Folic Acid = 0.5 mg
Calcium Carb. = 200 mg.
Ginger Root = 250 mg.

I know it's not fun to be sick.
Maybe, you can try some of these ideas with the ok of your doctor :)
Good luck and I hope something helps.
Congratulations!!!!
T.

I am currently pregnant with my second, and this is one I have been in the hospital for dehydration. My Dr also prescribed phenergan for an as needed thing. Then she also told me to take B-natal vitamin that is for morning sickness and I am also on Premesis vitamin twice a day witch also helps with my morning sickness. Since she has given me the vitamins I have been doing pretty well with the morning sickness. As far as I know the B-natal vitamins are in either a sucker form or what looks like a piece of hard candy. I took the hard candy before bed and it lasted all night then had the sucker in the morning.

I also suffered from hyperemesis with both pregnancies. From what I learned at that time Zofran is the safer choice for the fetus, but it is considerably more expensive. It also doesn't cause the drowsiness that Phenergan can cause so it makes being mom to your first child that much easier!
In my experience, any vitamin supplements were so irritating to my stomach that they had to be avoided. I was just careful about the rest of my diet to ensure proper nutrition. Dry cereal like crispix is easy to snack on for upset tummies and vitamin enriched! Good luck.

You can take phenergan and zofran and it is not linked to any birth defects. I work on a mother/baby unit and have also worked in an ob/gyn office. There are natural ways to help like sucking on ginger root or lemons. However when you need to function at work and the nausea is extreme it is definitely ok you're not the only mom to resort to this. I was super sick with both of my pregnancies and it's the pits. Take care and God bless!

I feel for you! Looks like you got some great advice. I was sick for both babies and on Zofran through both pregnancies. I also tried Phenergan which did nothing for me. Both babies are beautiful and healthy! I just wanted to say that I was also severely depressed and no one understands except for other moms who went through the same thing. I felt throughout the first 5 months with my second that I would not love my baby because of how awful I felt. And the guilt coupled with the depression and vomiting was a lot to bear. To give you a light at the end of the tunnel, once I saw the ultrasound the depression and fear began to go away and I am completely obsessed with my both my children. Best of luck with your hyperemesis!

My cousin took both zofran and pherergan during her last pregnancy and her baby ended up having numerous strokes in utero during labor, which ultimately caused a blood clot in her brain. The part of her brain above the clot is now dead and she has some developmental problems as well as frequent seizures. Per my midwife, peppermint oil on the feet helps morning sickness. I would definitely try to find some natural alternative measures to lessen the sickness. A few weeks of sickness is definitely worth a healthy baby rather than taking category C drugs that cause all kinds of life long problems for your baby. Pray that God will lead you to something natural that will help you feel better.

I just read that eating bananas could help with this. I am not sure of statistics or anything...but maybe do a little research on it.

Hi R.-

My first pregnancy I had "all day sickness" for 9 months. My doctor would not give me anything. I tried the dry toast, crackers, apple juice, ginger tea, getting up slowly, you name it, I tried it. It got to the point where I would be sick as I was walking out the door to go to work each day. It was horrible. I probably missed 4 months of work during that pregnancy before my son was born. I also only technically gained 1 pound during that pregnancy. I lost so much weight in the beginning that I really never gained any weight. My son is now 9 and perfectly normal. When I became pregnant with my daughter 5 years later, I told my new doctor that I would try all of the methods to stop morning sickness, but I was not going through another 9 months of being sick. Of course none of those methods worked again and she game me phenergan after about the 3 month. My daughter, who is now 4 is just fine. My pregnancy with her was great. I hardly ever missed any work and actually went into labor while at work with her. The delivery was much easier with her as well. I think it was because I was able to keep a "normal life" during pregnancy.

Congrats on the new baby and hang in there. It will be over soon. Melanie

I'm so sorry to hear you are feeling so lousy. I had pretty bad morning sickness also, and I did use phenergan. I used it with all three of my pregnancies and never experienced any bad effects from it. I remember those first 16 weeks for me seeming like an eternity!! Just take it one day at a time and don't look ahead at how many more weeks you could be experiencing this. Each child is a blessing from God, as you know - I remember it being hard to remember this when I was so sick!! Hopefully you have some help with your other child so you can get some extra rest and take care of yourself. Hope this encourages you a little. I said a prayer for you also!!! A. M.

You're describing my pregnancies! I was sick until 20 weeks, and even then never felt good. The first two times I did phen as rarely as possible, but by the time I was pg with #3 we had switched to an all-natural lifestyle. I don't even take Tylenol EVER, let alone drugs when pg, so there had to be another way. I contacted a natural midwife and she recommended eating as much protein as often as I could possibly get it down, and to absolutely avoid refined sugars and flours. So the thing that was truly helpful was to make up a protein shake to have by the bed at night. It had raw milk from healthy goats, raw eggs from healthy free-range chickens, a quality whey powder, and some berries. (I know at a surface glance it looks appalling that I would leave this by the bed all night, but my research and experience reveal that raw milk & eggs are far superior to pasteurized & overcooked, and that there is little chance of disease if you get them from farmers with small herds that know their animals.) Anyway, whenever I had an ounce of consciousness in the night, I'd suck down several gulps... it dramatically improved the way I felt the next morning compared to waking on an empty stomach and trying to fool around with crackers.

I also heartily second the idea to check out acupuncture. There's a natural doctor just south of Akron that I went to for energy treatments, which helped take off the edge, and it's the same idea. Probably would have felt great if I'd have kept going and paying, but I just took it to the point where I could function. PM me if want the info. There's also a technique called EFT that I learned about since then but have had some success with for various things, although you feel like a complete idiot trying it. It involves tapping on various pressure points. And that's free! http://www.emofree.com/ I never would have considered these options pre-granola days, but sometimes they really work!

Also check out ReliefBand... it's like sea bands, but with more effect because they send out a pulse every few seconds on the pressure point. Definitely helped some with my second child, but then I developed a metal allergy and could no longer use it. Ask your doctor... they may have a sample, but I had to ask before they even thought of it. They just throw the cracker nonsense at you and figure you'll eventually grow out of the problem!

If you're going to try the mint essential oil, make sure you get a high quality medicinal oil. You may not experience any effect from health food store brands. Young Living is excellent. We've used their oils with great success for several things now (and I don't sell it).

Incidentally, I knew we had to stop with 2 kids because I couldn't do this ever, ever again. So I know how you feel. When I got the shock of my life with #3, I cried for 3 weeks, felt yucky for a long time again (but not as dysfunctional as before), then adjusted and welcomed the sweetest little man EVER into our family. He had the same swallowing problem as his brothers so I had to exclusively pump for an entire year. He's the happiest, healthiest little 3 year-old in the world, and I'm so, so, SO glad God knew better than I did what the size of our family should be. :) So walk this valley knowing that it will truly be worth it!

I'm not sure about Phenergan; however, someone told me that any one egg, any style, a day helps.

I used phenergan in very small amounts when a migraine hit during pregnancy. I also had terrible morning sickness for 4 to 5 months with all 3 babies. With my third, I purchased a Relief Band. This looks like a big digital watch, but it delivers electrical stimulation to the inside of your wrist. You use some conductivity gel (and a lot of batteries). It was the only thing that kept me at all functional. I assume you can still buy them. I got mine online. They can be used for seasickness, chemo treatments (loaned mine to someone for this purpose, and he benefitted, too). Nothing works completely, but neither does Phenergan. The Relief Band kept me from using drugs. This was far more effective than the pressure bands that are sometimes recommended. I had to set the stimulation high enough that it caused my fingers to pull in making it hard to write, but I could wear it on my left hand and get the much needed relief. It was the only thing that kept me chasing two toddlers and working part time through a very challenging 5 months!

Hi R.,
I too had constant "morning sickness" all day with all 6 of my beautiful blessings. I was on every medication known to man that could help including phenergan. I actually had a central IV line for 5 months with my last one. I was on 8 different medications. I have 6 very healthy children. I have heard that being dehydrated is much worse for the pregnancy than anything that could happen with the meds. I know it is scary, but the doctors now are so careful about giving out any meds during pregnany that I am sure they feel this is the best thing for you and the baby. Good luck and God Bless!
T.

i also had to take phengran with my third child. i had rotovirus twice and ended up dehydrating 3 times while pregnant with him. no matter how much i seemed to drink, it was never enough. anyhow, my youngest didn't have any problems due to the phenegran use. also, i can sympathize with you on the morning sickness. with my oldest i started with the morning sickness 2 weeks after we conceived(didn't know at the time that was what was causing my sickness) and it lasted til 2 weeks after i gave birth. worst case of morning sickness our doctors in this area has ever seen. you should be fine as long as you aren't using it in over excess. good luck and have a happy pregnancy.

I took Phenergan for migraines with my 2nd baby, 2 years ago. I got them really bad towards the end and that was all I was allowed to take. He was born at 40 weeks, healthy and happy! And today he is a 30 pound loving and adorable little boy :-)

I see that this was written in 2008, but my son was born in 2007 and I had terrible sickness that lasted well past the 1st trimester. I used zofran and my son was born with hypospadia.. No family history of this and he had the surgery when he was a year old. He will be 5 in May and is perfectly fine now, but the more I read of this the more I wonder if there is a correalation?

Hi,

I took Phenergan for 5 months with my first son and he has high functioning autism. I suspect, but don't know that the Phenergan caused his problems. I know how bad morning sickness can be - try though to find natural remedies. I had it very bad so I know. With my second and third babies, I was able to stay on an IV for nutrition without using meds. and neither of them have autism. My kids are now 15, 12 and 10 years old. My 15 year old is the one with autism.

C.

R.
My daughter took and swears by a natural product called soothing stomach complex. All natural and not to worry about baby. Let me know if you want any more info. Very possible your pre-natal is the cause.
S.

An herbal tea remedy taken from Dr. Hulda Clark's "The Cure For All Diseases" : 2 tb cinnamon in 2 1/2 c boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Strain and add honey. Drink 1/4 c three times a day before meals. (This doctor has a website in her name. She has very good information on our health.)

Any drug that lists several side affects to the mother should be avoided because it very likely will affect the baby too. Pharaceutical companies produce to line their pockets more than to help your health. Sincerely :)

Not every pregnancy is the same. You may experience very little to no morning sickness with another baby. I have had six and it seems I had less sickness with each one.

Personally, I have not and will not take drugs accept in the mildest form--like tylenol or novocain for my teeth. We people of America need to stick to nature created plants/herbs for our medicines instead of lab-concocted potions and lotions not fit to swallow or wipe onto our skin. We would be a lot healthier for it. I have six healthy children to prove it.

R.,
I wouldn't risk it! I took Zofran and that was only what my Dr. would agree to. I ate lots of Ginger snaps and cheez-its.
Good Luck!
R.

I am so glad you are feeling better!! I also suffered from morning sickness much more so with my first than second. They had me on zofran and phenergan also. My doctor pushed me to get a pick line I was so sick but I refused. My two little babies are perfectly healthy and no side affects. I worked from 6:30-3:30 so that was horrible hours for the sickness.I would get sick driving. Here is what I did and I hope it helps! I would eat some toast and take a zofran when I got up sit for ten mins. Then go to work. I ate very small and more often which is hard when you work but if you can sneak in some snacks like crackers or some fruit every hour or so it will slow down so much. Then how I cut the phenergan down is I would only take it at night time and relied on zofran during daytime hours. Hang in there and have faith that your doctor will keep you and your baby safe. Hands up to your hubby who is taking so very good care of you! I did it alone so I feel what you are going through! Take care and the best of luck to you.