Can we give Gravol to a patient who is pregnant? Are there any concerns or is it totally safe?
Answer: Prospective research on these medications is difficult to do in pregnancy, as there are ethical challenges getting studies approved. That being said hundreds of thousands of women in North America have used dimenhydrinate (Gravol) in pregnancy without issue. The challenge is that electrolyte depletion, and dehydration could potentially lead to stress on the pregnancy, and this may out way any fears or concerns with the lack of large multi-center prospective research on any of the medications. (1) Campbell K, Rowe H, Azzam H, Lane CA. The Management of Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2016 Dec;38(12):1127-1137. doi: 10.1016/j.jogc.2016.08.009. PMID: 27986189
Pregnancy is not one of the contraindications listed within the nausea and vomiting directive. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) considers dimenhydrinate safe in pregnancy(1).