I read a story on MSNBC.com today about a morning
sickness drug being used in Israel that reportedly does not
harm your baby.
My first thought was, That's great it's safe for
babies. My second: Why is there even a drug
for morning sickness?
Morning sickness seems a natural and, for the most part, temporary
symptom of pregnancy, just like cramps are a hallmark of your
period. True, some women have terrible morning sickness that can
spur other health issues, and some women have cramps so severe it
makes them unable to get out of bed.
But I kinda sorta have a problem with prescribing medication for
these and other ailments in most cases. It almost seems we're
getting to the point where we don't want to have any pain in
any part of 
I think the marketing of all these magic pills is part of
our growing need for things to be convenient. We work too much and
have to too many responsibilities to be in pain. We have too much
to do and too few hours in the day to have pain.
If you're thinking, Yeah that sounds about
right, I offer this: We're supposed to be in pain
sometimes. It's often a signal from our bodies that
something's wrong or that we need to slow down, change our
habits, stop eating this or doing that. If we're able to
medicate all our maladies, how will we ever know when
something's going on?
Aside from the physical component, running to your medicine cabinet
every time you feel the first hint of a headache or cramp seems
like an action of defeat. If we're so sturdy and strong in all
other areas of our lives, why can't we live with a little bit
of discomfort every once in a while?
User Post: Is it Good to Never Have Pain?
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From the Community…
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Posted by Thu Jun 11, 2009 3:58pm PDT
Report AbuseA safe morning sickness drug is great news to me since I typically (4 times now) lose about 15 pounds the first two months of pregnancy from all day sickness and vomiting. I have had my fair share of pain starting with migraines that began when I was 4, 14 hour spinal surgery for severe scoliosis when I was 13, 4 pregnancies followed by 4 all natural deliveries and at 28 my continuing battle with debilitating migraines 3-4 times a month.
None of these episodes of pain were signs that something was wrong. Migraines just happen, the surgery fixed my spinal problem, the pregnancies and deliveries happened exactly the way they were supposed to. If I can have a drug that keeps me from heaving up every thing I put in my mouth for two short months then I'm not going to just suck it up to teach myself a little life lesson about pain.
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Posted by Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:19pm PDT
Report Abusechild birth today!is painless,women talk on the phone while in labor,and when it's time to push they say"hold on a minute".blew my mind.So i have come to the conclusion that the lack of pain at that time is the reason our "kiddults"have less compassion for the feelings of other people.no pain,no gain and thats real.
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Posted by Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:34am PDT
Report AbuseI don't agree, Ms Priss. First of all, not all women choose to have pain relief in labor including me and most of the women I know. (you can't have pain relied during a home birth in the US)
Second, even with an epidural in place there is still some pain and exertion involved.
Thirdly, unless you have been pregnant and delivered a child you can not assume that anything associated with either one can be a "no pain, no gain" scenario. Pregnancy is tough, labor is tough and whether you have extremely horrible pain or not is irrelevant.
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Posted by Fri Jun 12, 2009 7:19am PDT
Report AbuseFor some, morning sickness is an inconvenience. I suggest you google hyperemesis gravidarum and then reassess. A dear friend of mine wound up with a shunt installed in her chest during her second pregnancy due to this condition. Would this drug have helped her? Maybe.
Even if not taken to the extreme...I was one of the lucky ones that 1. It wasn't that bad most days, I could function, 2. My boss had no issue with me calling and saying "I'm going to be in in about two hours when I can be upright without puking, I'll work from bed on my laptop til then and 3. It went away at 14 weeks. Some women are not as lucky.
I must have been a textbook epidural case or something. I felt no "pain" but everything else - pressure, crowing, urge to push, baby's shoulders and head, my pelvis popping, everything. It was uncomfortable as all get, it just didn't "hurt" if that makes any sense.
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Posted by Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:01am PDT
Report AbuseOne of the worst memories from my first pregnancy involves vomiting into a streetcorner trash can on my way to a client meeting, then frantically stuffing in some saltines in hopes that I could keep the queasiness at bay at least until I left the meeting. I was sick all day long until well into the third trimester, so my morning sickness was considerably more than a minor annoyance. Still, I was very cautious and don't know if I would have taken medication.
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Posted by Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:22am PDT
Report AbuseNo, you shouldn't grab the drugs for every little pain that you have, but I do think that you shouldn't have to live in chronic pain if you have an illness or condition that cannot be treated some other way.
The morning-sickness pill is a good idea--while I did not get the morning sickness too often and probably would not take the pill since it wasn't a big deal for me, I do know several women personally who are so ill during the first few months of pregnancy that they cannot function.
If the pill is safe for the mother and baby, then it is a good idea. Why should a woman have to feel horrible, lose weight (danger to her/baby's health) and be so ill she cannot function? In this case, yes, I think that the morning sickness pill is appropriate and would allow for better health of the mother and baby.
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Posted by Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:50am PDT
Report AbuseUnless you have been pregnant, you have no right to comment on what works or does not for pregnant women. Morning sickness can last all day, like you have the flu for months, would you want to feel that way? Probably not. Just like people who don't have children dispensing advice, you should keep your opinions to yourself until you have walked a mile with their swollen feet.
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Posted by Fri Jun 12, 2009 12:24pm PDT
Report AbuseHi April,
The morning sickness drug was just an example. The discussion is really about how there are more drugs for things that people used to just deal with and whether or not that is good or bad.
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Posted by Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:50pm PDT
Report AbuseYou know, I've been thinking about writing a blog, "Is Shine Trying to Give All Women a Complex?" because I'm really starting to think it is.
As stated, this article was written by someone fortunate enough to not have to suffer any kind of serious pain. Well, good for you. Leave the rest of us alone.
My boss' daughter is pregnant right now, and she's been hospitalized 3 times because she's been so sick during this pregnancy. She does nothing but vomit and get dehydrated. She can't gain weight. She can't even ride in a car because it makes her vomit. She can't carry out her regular activities of daily living, and she has a 3 year old to take care of on top of all that. Being this sick has put both her and her pregnancy at risk.
Two of my aunts had similar problems when they had their children, and with all the problems I have with my periods, including PCOS, I'm worried that I will suffer the same fate.
I not only have horrible menstrual cramps, I have terribly irregular periods and have all my life. Why should I live in pain while others don't have to? I didn't "do this to myself" as your article suggests. This happened to me. I got my first period when I was 9, and have lived in pain ever since.
I also have a serious back injury that I got at work. Although I haven't taken narcotic drugs for this condition in the last 6 months, when I need them, I have to go to pain management, sign a "contract", and have the pills delivered to my home. I have to submit to having my pills counted to make sure I'm not selling them or taking them like candy. I'm not even allowed to go to my regular drug store to get them. I don't appreciate being treated like a criminal because I want the ability to be able to sit in a chair or walk to the bathroom on my own.
Finally, the pain medicines available today aren't even effective. When my father was dieing of cancer, he was put on a morphine drip that didn't even kill his pain, but was successful in killing his kidneys so that he wasn't able to urinate on his own. If you think that people "need to feel pain," go stand in the hall on a cancer ward some evening and listen to the people there screaming for help because their meds don't work. That's how my dad died, screaming and trying to claw his way out of his skin.
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Posted by Sat Jun 13, 2009 2:46pm PDT
Report AbuseThats the thing about "today's society"! We are too quick to medicate some "ailment"!! Why can't these women just eat ginger for morning sickness??! Pain is not only good but necessary in some cases. Without pain, your body isn't able to send out the signals to the brain telling it there's something wrong. At the same time, something to block those pain recieving nerves isn't such a bad idea (eg serious illness, injury or some type of situation that is inhibiting your body's ability to function). So in my opinion, taking something for a tummy ache isn't the answer, figure out what the problem is and fix it.
Now I have a personal story for you:
I was having serious stomach cramping, the type you can't even sit up or you hurt worse, I was vomiting, etc. I let myself live that way for a few days before going into the hospital. They diagnosed me with a serious stomach virus, brochitis, and severe dehydration. Before that I was lying there trying to rest when I noticed the nurse jabbing a syringe into my IV line. Upset I asked her what the bleep was that she just injected and she told me, "oh, it's only morphine" I screamed at her that I didn't request it, asked her if she had a doctor's order for the morphine (she didn't) then proceeded to drill her on her knowledge of possible short term and long term side effects. I was ill so I might have taken that out of proportion, but I also have a med-student husband.
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