Nausea and vomiting are the most common and unpleasant symptoms during pregnancy, affecting between 50% and 90% of all women at some point during their pregnancies.

Ginger, widely available, safe, and inexpensive, is proving to be one of the best possible remedies for this common condition. A new, single-blind, randomized clinical trial involving nearly 70 women up to 20 weeks’ gestation, shows that at a dose of 250 mg, four times daily, this herb is highly effective in controlling nausea and reducing vomiting.

Sixty-seven women were randomized to receive ground ginger in capsules (250 mg/capsule) or placebo capsules and instructed to take one capsule 4 times each day for a total of 4 days; 32 women took the ginger, and 35 took placebo.

The patients were asked to complete a daily questionnaire on each of the four treatment days. They were also asked to record nausea intensity twice a day.

Nausea intensity decreased in 84% of those who used the ginger and in 56% of the women in the control group. The incidence of vomiting was reduced by 50% in the ginger group, and by 9% in the placebo group (Ozgoli G, et al. J Altern Complement Med. 2009;15(3):243-246)

The current study is clearly limited in size and duration, but it corroborates a number of earlier trials, in this case showing not only a positive effect, but also a high level of patient satisfaction, with no complications. At least four previously published studies have shown ginger to be effective in controlling nausea and vomiting of pregnancy at doses of 1,000 mg – 1,500 mg per day.