If you are thinking about taking Unisom during pregnancy, you should know that a lot of doctors prescribe it to their pregnant patients to make morning sickness better.
Although this is an over-the-counter drug, you should check with your doctor before taking it. The drug is available in three different forms. In the majority of the cases women take tablets to fight morning sickness.
These usually contain 25 mg of doxylamine succinate. The other forms of Unisom contain HCl that isn’t good for pregnant women.
Active ingredient
As it has been mentioned before, the active agent of Unisom is doxylamine. This is an antihistamine that is used as sleeping aid. In the same time, it can also be used to fight the symptoms of allergies or common cold.
The agent acts by blocking acetylcholine and histamine that your body produces. Thus Unisom while being pregnant leads to drowsiness and it makes sneezing, watery eyes and runny nose better.
If the drug is combined with vitamin B6 it can combat the signs of morning sickness and this is why a lot of doctors advise women to take it. According to the FDA, the drug is safe to use during pregnancy. Hundreds of pregnant women take the drug on a yearly basis.
Risks
Another drug that contained vitamin B6 and doxylamine was Benedictin. Although this was commonly used in the past, it was removed from the market because the FDA said that it wasn’t safe for pregnant women.
Some of the specialists say that it leads to birth defects. The studies that were performed later showed no direct link between malformation and the drug.
According to doctors, women should stop taking Unisom when being pregnant in the third trimester because the active agents increase the risks of side effects like seizures in case of babies.
