Can pregnant women take metoclopramide?

For pregnant women with stomach problems, their gastrointestinal functions are not sound, and they need to take certain digestive aids to ensure stomach comfort. But we all know that pregnant women cannot use drugs casually, because this may affect the baby in the belly and cause health problems for the newborn. So can pregnant women with stomach problems take metoclopramide?

Metoclopramide is suitable for the treatment of gastroparesis (especially diabetic gastroparesis). It can eliminate the symptoms of gastric retention and shorten the gastric emptying time. For patients with moderate or above functional dyspepsia (FD), it can completely eliminate or significantly alleviate symptoms such as upper abdominal distension, upper abdominal pain, warmth, early satiety, heartburn, nausea and vomiting after meals. It has obvious effects on reflux gastritis, but the effect on gastroesophageal reflux disease is not satisfactory.

The pharmacological effects of metoclopramide are as follows: Pharmacokinetic studies have shown that the peak blood concentration of domperidone tablets is 20-30 minutes after taking the medicine. If the medicine is taken about 30 minutes before a meal, the blood concentration will reach its peak during meals, which is also the time when the drug effect is strongest. This has a good effect on increasing the tension of the lower esophageal sphincter, enhancing gastric motility, promoting gastric emptying, and coordinating the movements of the stomach and duodenum. Digestive system symptoms such as abdominal distension will be significantly alleviated.

Experts say there is limited experience with the use of metoclopramide in pregnant women. Its potential harm to humans is still unclear. However, in a study in rats, morphine showed reproductive toxicity at doses higher than those that were toxic to the mother (10 times the recommended human dose). Therefore, for pregnant women, metoclopramide should be used with caution only after weighing the pros and cons.