In plain words
Pyridoxine is the form of vitamin B6 used as a medicine. Vitamin B6 is found in foods such as poultry, fish, potatoes, and bananas, and the body needs it to make proteins and certain brain chemicals. In pregnancy it comes up mainly as a treatment option for . ACOG recommends pyridoxine, alone or with doxylamine, as a first-line option for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Many mothers find nausea hard to manage and ask about it at a visit. Because the right choice depends on your symptoms, your history, and your provider's view, a good question to bring is which option fits you. A pharmacist can answer questions about any product that contains it.
The deeper version
Pyridoxine is the active form of vitamin B6 and a cofactor for many enzymes, including those in amino acid and neurotransmitter metabolism. Its mechanism against nausea in pregnancy is not established. ACOG Practice Bulletin 189 (2018) grades pyridoxine alone, or combined with doxylamine, as first-line for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, based on randomized trials including Vutyavanich and colleagues (1995), in which pyridoxine outperformed placebo on symptom scores. The controversy centers on the small size of many early trials, the unknown mechanism, and how well the benefit holds at the more severe end of the spectrum.
Where it comes up
- Nausea and vomiting in pregnancyPregnancy: Your Body
- Eating when nothing sounds goodPregnancy: Eating
What mothers here say about pyridoxine
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Practice Bulletin No. 189: Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy (2018)
- Vutyavanich T, Kraisarin T, Ruangsri R — Pyridoxine for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1995)