Suppression of pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting with sensory afferent stimulation

Abstract

This study examined the effect of sensory affect stimulation (SAS) delivered through the volar surface of the wrist on pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. Twenty-three women with significant nausea and vomiting in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy were enrolled in a randomized, crossover study comparing an active SAS unit and an inactive placebo unit. Twenty-one women experienced improvement in symptoms, 20 (87%) with the SAS unit and 10 (43%) with the placebo device. Nine women had an improvement with both devices. Eleven women reported an improvement with SAS only, while one woman had placebo improvement only. SAS applied to the wrist can effectively improve pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting as compared to a placebo device.