(AP) - There's reassuring news for pregnant women miserable with morning sickness: A very large study in Denmark finds no evidence that using a popular anti-nausea drug will harm their babies.
One in 10 pregnant women has nausea and vomiting bad enough to need medicine but many forgo it out of fear of side effects. No drugs are currently approved for morning sickness in the U.S. although doctors are free to prescribe whatever they believe is best.
Zofran has been the top choice. Yet women and doctors have been leery of it because a small study previously suggested it might raise the risk of a birth defect -- cleft palate.
Dr. Iffath Hoskins, a high-risk pregnancy specialist at NYU Langone Medical Center and a spokeswoman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says the new study found no evidence of major birth-related problems, so women should not be afraid to use Zofran if they need it.
Results of the study appear in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
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