Advocates Unite on FDA-Approved Therapies for Pregnant Women

March 7, 2014

by Amanda Conschafter, Blog Editor

Pregnant women constitute a highly sensitive population when it comes to medical therapies.  The National Perinatal Association calls for better access to nausea and vomiting treatments for these women – and takes issue with suggestions that over-the-counter treatments can substitute for a Pregnancy Category A medication.

Despite the misnomer “morning sickness,” nausea and vomiting affects between 50 and 90 percent of pregnant women at any time of day and for varying durations throughout pregnancy.  Symptoms can seriously impact quality of life for women, the association notes, acknowledging the impact of maternal stress on fetal health.

Though treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration now exists, barriers to access complicate many pregnant women’s ability to find relief.  Thus, some pregnant women are left to take over-the-counter medications, such as sleeping aids, that do not specifically address nausea and vomiting and have not been tested on – or determined safe for – this population.

In calling for expanded access for safe, FDA-approved treatments for pregnant women’s nausea and vomiting, the National Perinatal Association is joined by the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, Healthy Women and more.  These organizations continue to appeal to both private insurers and state Medicaid agencies for broader access for pregnant women.

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