Cardamom powder effect on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy

Nausea and vomiting are common complaints of women in the first half of their pregnancy. Many mothers, favorite complementary medicine including herbal medicine. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Cardamom powder on nausea and vomiting severity in pregnant women. This double blinded randomized clinical trial was performed on 120 pregnant women with gestational age less than 22 weeks with mild to moderate nausea and vomiting referred to health centers of Chalus city. Samples were randomly divided into two groups including Cardamom powder and placebo. Capsules containing 500 mg Cardamom powder and placebo were administered three times a day half an hour before meals. The tools used in this study included demographic questionnaire, Modified Pregnancy- Unique Quantification of Emesis/Nausea, and severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy questionnaire; which were completed before, during and 4 days after the intervention. Data was analyzed using independent t-test. The two groups were not significantly different in terms of demographic characteristics. Findings showed that the frequency and duration of nausea and the frequency of vomiting were significantly decreased in Cardamom powder group (p<0.0001). Cardamom powder reduces the severity of nausea and vomiting during and after intervention.