Ginger probably poses no threat to unborn

Women taking ginger during their first trimester of pregnancy to relieve nausea and vomiting are no more likely to experience poor pregnancy outcomes than women exposed to nonteratogenic, nonantiemetic drugs. When investigators compared women taking various ginger formulations to those in the comparison group, they found no evidence that the herb affected the number of live births, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, therapeutic abortions, mean birthweight, mean gestational age, or major malformations. There were actually more infants weighing less than 2,500 g among women not using ginger (12 vs. 3; P<0.001).

A new ACOG Practice Bulletin concludes there is some evidence to support the use of ginger for treating the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.

Portnoi G, Chng L, Karimi-Tabesh L, et al. Prospective comparative study of the safety and effectiveness of ginger for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189:1374-1377.

ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 52. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. April 2004.