Effect of Sharbat Tamar hindi in Nausea and Vomiting during Pregnancy: A pre and post interventional study

Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) is one of the most common problem during pregnancy with an incidence of 70-85%.1 It occur at any time of the day, in 80% of cases nausea and vomiting occur during the day and in 3% it happens in afternoon and evening. During pregnancy, women normally experience nausea and vomiting known as morning sickness.2 NVP begin in first trimester at about 6-8 weeks, peaking at about 9 weeks and subside at about 12 weeks of gestation, and it persist in some cases even after 20 weeks of gestation.3 NVP causes discomfort and disrupt the woman’s daily life in mild cases, while in severe cases, it endanger the health of both mother and fetus.2 The severe vomiting in pregnancy is known as hyperemesis gravidarum, which often requires hospitalization due to weight loss, poor nutrition, and dehyderation.4 NVP causes inadequate food intake resulting in malnutrition, reduced energy and fatigue, electrolyte imbalance, weakness and dehydration.2 It is accompanied by an increased risk of maternal stress, anxiety, depression, low quality of life and reduction in maternal physical and social function.5 In conventional medicine, the treatment is mainly symptomatic which includes dietary changes, nutritional therapy, oral pharmacological treatment and hospitalization (if severe) with intravenous fluid replacement. Vitamin B6 is used as the first-line of treatment for NVP; however, current studies support the use of metoclopramide and antihistamines such as doxylamine and ondansetron. In early pregnancy, these drugs are avoided due to their potential teratogenic effects. Hence, there is an increasing tendency towards the use of alternate medicine especially the herbal medicine to fulfil this demand.1 Various formulations are available in USM such as Sharbat-i-turanj, Sharbat-i-leemu, Sharbat-i-ghaura, Sharbat-i-zanjabeel, Jawarish-i-oodtursh, Murraba-i-amla etc,6,7 which can be used in the management of NVP, but scientific studies are lacking. 6.2 6.3 7. Therefore, it has been decided to conduct a clinical trial to evaluate the effect of Sharbat Tamar hindi 8 in pregnancy induced nausea and vomiting