NVP Counselor
Date: 2004-08-13

Question:
does zofran have an effect on the baby? will zofran harm the baby? does it cause abnormalities? is zofran just for cancer people? Is it safe for pregnant women to zofran? Please get back to me on this i need to know thank you very much

Answer:
Zofran for NVP first came to our attention about 5 or 6 years ago. Though orginally used by cnacer patients to relieve their nausea, it has been given to pregnant women for NVP, especially in the U.S., and seems to be used now, more and more. Until our Motherisk study, conducted a couple of years ago, only 15 women had been followed up after their pregnancies. Our study of 176 women, though not yet published, found 6 babies with birth defects. This remains within the 1 percent to 3 percent baseline risk for birth defects expected in any pregnancy.

Zofran seems to be prescribed now in the US even for milder symptoms, when other treatments such as the equivalent of Diclectin (available in Canda)might also be considered. Those who cannot obtain Diclectin, the only approved drug for NVP in Canada, are sometime treated with Vitamin B6 and doxylamine succinate (an approximate equivalent of Diclectin). Other treatment options are outlined in our treatment algorithm, posted on this website under Newsletters and Updates, February 2002 Update.