The Efficacy of Ginger Alone Versus Ginger Combined with Acupressure for Treating Nausea and Vomiting in first trimester of pregnancy

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of ginger alone and ginger combined with acupressure in treating nausea and vomiting in first trimester pregnant women. This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at Metropolitan Health and Wellness Institute. The study participants were 64 pregnant women in the first trimester with mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. They were randomly divided into 2 groups: 32 women who received 400 mg of ginger alone, 3 times daily, and 32 women who received 400 mg of ginger, 3 times daily, combined with acupressure at the P6 area, 3 times daily for 10 minutes each for 3 days. The outcome was assessed using the PUQE scores for nausea and vomiting severity before and after taking ginger alone or ginger combined with acupressure daily for 3 days. PUQE scores were compared using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures. The study results found that baseline characteristics and pregnancy characteristics between the two groups showed no statistically significant differences (P>0.05). Both groups had a statistically significant decrease in PUQE scores in both groups after the experiment (P<0.001). The group that received ginger along with acupressure had a decrease of 4.47 points (from 9.22±1.38 to 4.75±0.88 points), which was significantly more effective than the group that received ginger alone, which decreased 3.78 points (from 9.19±1.51 to 5.41±0.84 points) (P=0.040). However, 5 cases of gastric irritation were found as a side effect.