Is Dramamine safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about Dramamine during pregnancy?

1. MotherToBaby's fact sheet on nausea and vomiting of pregnancy encourages trying diet and lifestyle changes first, then working with a health care provider on medication options rather than choosing one on your own. 1
2. The Dramamine Original Formula drug label on file with the National Library of Medicine lists dimenhydrinate 50 mg as the active ingredient for motion-sickness nausea and tells pregnant or breastfeeding people to ask a doctor before use. 2
3. A case-control study covering more than 60,000 pregnancies found dimenhydrinate use was not more common among infants born with birth differences than among unaffected infants, and the researchers reported no sign of increased risk. 3
4. A randomized trial comparing ginger with dimenhydrinate for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy found similar improvement in nausea scores between the two, but about 78 percent of the dimenhydrinate group felt drowsy compared with about 6 percent of the ginger group. 4
5. Dimenhydrinate is built from diphenhydramine, the antihistamine in Benadryl, and research on that drug family hasn't found a consistent pattern of birth defects, though drowsiness is a known effect for both. 5

Is Dramamine safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Morning sickness peaks now, and dimenhydrinate is generally viewed as a later option after ginger, vitamin B6, or diet changes. Drowsiness is common, so hold off on driving until you know how it affects you. Check with your healthcare provider before you start.
• Second trimester. Nausea usually calms down by the second trimester, so dimenhydrinate is more often used for travel or occasional motion sickness by this point. Avoid combining it with other sedating antihistamines like diphenhydramine unless your provider says that's fine. Keep your provider in the loop if you reach for it more than occasionally.
• Third trimester. Sedating medications can add to the fatigue and poor sleep that are already common late in pregnancy. Drowsiness still matters this close to delivery, especially if you're combining it with anything else that makes you sleepy. If you need dimenhydrinate near your due date, mention it to your delivery team along with everything else you're taking.