Metoclopramide is safe for morning sickness, study says

The study looked back at nearly 82,000 births in Israel, where metoclopramide is commonly used. It found no difference in birth defects or other problems in newborns of women whether or not they took the drug, sold as Reglan and in generic form.

"I think that women will be comforted by this," said Dr. Keith Eddleman, director of obstetrics at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. "Most women are reluctant (to take anti-nausea medicine) just because of the stories they've heard and the perception that taking something in the first trimester can cause harm."

Results of the study, which did not look at the drug's effectiveness, were reported in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

Morning sickness can be more than unpleasant. It can cause some women to lose weight or send them to the hospital.

But some doctors and women are reluctant to use medicine because of scares decades ago over a couple drugs used for morning sickness.

Thalidomide, used in Europe and Canada in the 1960s, caused missing or shortened limbs.

The maker of another drug, Bendectin, pulled it from the market in 1983 after widely publicized lawsuits alleged it caused limb deformities.

Multiple studies and reviews by medical authorities never found such a link.

Dr. Laura Riley, a Massachusetts General Hospital obstetrician and spokeswoman for the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine, said patients are far more cautious than doctors about using medication.

"For some who are on the fence, it'll allow them to take it," she said.

Metoclopramide, which works by speeding emptying of the stomach and reducing heartburn, can have side effects, including sedation, insomnia, depression, and anxiety.