Being Pregnant
A Morning Sickness Remedy That Actually Works
This, from a very morning sick pregnant journalist I know:
“There’s an actual remedy [for morning sickness] that was taken off the market in the US due to a bogus lawsuit but is used elsewhere, and you can make it with half a Unisom and vitamin b6– the info is out there but kind of buried, due to US conservatism and complacency on the issue. You can Google. But my friend’s midwife was Aussie and says there, everyone does it and hospitalization rate are HALF. It worked for me!…
I recall in the first trimester being all fired up about spreading this gospel and outraged that doctors don’t tell every nauseous pregnant lady to do it…. Mine had never heard of it when I told her and didn’t seem interested. Even on babycenter they are like, ten boring pages into the nausea post, “only after you’ve tried all other options….” THERE ARE NO OTHER OPTIONS! Nothing else works!””
I googled.
The name of the remedy is Benedectin. It was withdrawn from the market by the manufacturer in 1983 but there is indeed no evidence that it does any harm during pregnancy. The FDA has classified the ingredients in Bendectin as “safe and effective for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.” In Canada it’s sold as Dicletin. You can’t buy it here but you can make it yourself.
At first I worried this might require too much sketchy home lab work but really all you have to do is take a pill and a vitamin at the same time. Plus a wide variety of online pregnancy health resources including Babycenter, Dr. Oz and Moondragon all agree it’s a fine idea as long as you consult your doctor or midwife first. Here’s the formula:
- one 25mg tablet of vitamin B6
- one 5 mg tablet of Unisom *
Dr. Oz says to dose 3-4 times a day. But I read elsewhere that this medicine can make you drowsy so don’t take it before driving, etc. As my crusading journalist friend pointed out:
“The only downside is that you can only do it at night, so I imagine some with even worse nausea than me might still puke during the day. I did still puke occasionally if I let my stomach get too empty, but less, and never in the evening after I took it, til I woke up.”
The original Benectin had 1/4 mg folic acid in with the blend, but most women are getting that in a prenatal or separate folic acid pill. There are other ways to handle morning sickness of course and you may not need this. But if the crackers and soda and sea-bands are not cutting it, homemade Benedectin may be worth a shot. And if it works for you, spread the word!
* Avoid confusing Unisom Tablets with Unisom SleepGels, which contains different medication.
Go Back To Being Pregnant
8 Comments
Kate commented on Aug 11 10 at 2:09 pmI live in Canada and am prescribed Dicletin for my morning (all-day) sickness. It has helped so much, although you must be sure not to miss a dose– I ended up really sick at work that day. You can take it up to four or five times a day, which is great. :)
Rebecca commented on Aug 11 10 at 2:33 pmYes – I used this combo myself – but be very clear you are using the correct Unisom version!! Not every drugstore sells the tablets, which are Doxylamine Succinate. The other versions are the same ingredient as Benadryl, which is Diphenhydramine Hci. Also safe during pregnancy, but won’t have the anti-nausea effect.
Courtney commented on Aug 11 10 at 4:17 pmI tried that combo and, if I managed to swallow the pills, it would put me to sleep, but not take the nausea away. During the daytime I was on my own, since I most definitely would fall asleep after 30 minutes, max.
Sadly, no one thing works for every woman, and for some of us, we just have to tough it out…my nausea finally let up around 17.5 weeks.
Rosana commented on Aug 12 10 at 2:41 pmNo thanks, I rather suffer!
Rachel commented on Aug 12 10 at 4:48 pmMy doctor told me about Unisom when I was pregnant but I was fortunate that I never needed to try it. She did tell me though that the B6 didn’t make any difference though. Just the Unisom would work.
Echo commented on Aug 14 10 at 9:43 pmAcupuncture for morning sickness is a much better remedy.
Dana commented on Sep 09 10 at 10:05 amI took Diclectin during my pregnancy (I’m Canadian) and it really did work. Without it I was naseous all day, continuously. It has been fully tested here, and used for many, many years. I can’t believe with the huge consumer market in the US that this is not being sold there.
Bee Careful commented on Oct 27 10 at 3:10 pmYou may want to research Bendectin (correct spelling, not Benectin) a little more. Google See Daubert vs. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals for more info.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Aela Mass 
Casi Densmore-Koon 
Rebekah Kuschmider .jpg)
CaitlinHTP (Caitlin Boyle) 
Michelle Horton 
Ceridwen Morris 
Katie 
Devan McGuinness 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
8