ABSTRACT
Most women will experience troublesome pregnancy-related symptoms at some stage and, in general, will seek professional advice before taking any medicine. Common problems include nausea and vomiting, heartburn, constipation, haemorrhoids, vaginitis, leg cramps, migraine, threadworm and scabies. Nausea and vomiting are the most frequent and troublesome symptoms of early pregnancy, affecting up to 70% of women. Doctors may be reluctant to prescribe anti-emetics, even when vomiting is severe, due to fears of teratogenicity, but for some agents there is a large body of data showing no evidence of such effect. Debendox was widely used in pregnancy, having been taken by over 30 million women worldwide. The phenothiazine anti-emetic prochlorperazine is very widely used during pregnancy in the United KIngdom (UK). Minor aches and pains often do not require drug treatment, especially in the first trimester. Paracetamol is the analgesic of choice in pregnancy.
