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女性受孕後，約有百分之七十的人可能在懷孕初期會有「孕吐」現象。根據統計，「孕吐」通常發生於妊娠第四週到第七週之間，其中可能有百分之三十的孕婦在妊娠第十週時症狀會消失，只有百分之一的孕婦會一直持續到妊娠第二十週之後。改善孕吐的方法，除了「少量多餐」、止吐藥物之外，服用濃縮生薑膠囊及維他命B6也是個很好的方法。
懷孕第一個月到第三個月間的反胃與嘔吐現象，也就是害喜，雖然相當常見，但醫界一直不很瞭解其詳細導因。有研究指出，害喜現象代表懷孕是健康的，因為成長中的胎盤會製造雌激素，而女性荷爾蒙則會提高個人對味道的敏感度，進而造成反胃。如果胎盤不大量製造雌激素，懷孕就可能有問題。
無論什麼因素導致害喜，相關的症狀並不會造成危險，只是會使孕婦感覺不便，甚至暫時喪失行為能力。醫師對孕婦的害喜通常不會開給處方藥，以免可能傷及成長中的胎兒。
天然的抗嘔食物
醫藥界一片「復古」的草本研究風潮中，現代西醫早就開始對薑另眼相看。1982年英國的醫學雜誌《刺胳針》率先刊載猶他州心理學家丹尼爾．毛瑞的研究報告。他發現，假如預先給研究對象1000mg的濃縮生薑膠囊，然後叫他們坐傾斜的旋轉椅，與吃安慰劑的人相比較，服薑的人比較不會噁心。後來，另一項對80位丹麥海軍候補軍官的試驗也顯示，比起服用安慰劑的人，在大浪襲擊前半小時服用生薑（大約半茶匙的碎薑）的那些人，薑壓制住72％的人的噁心感，其中約38％的人覺得「受到薑的保護」，這保護性長達4小時。
因此，在德國，薑是對抗因交通工具所造成噁心問題的天然武器；丹麥政府則證明薑可做為「風濕和旅行時的止嘔藥」，每年大約賣出1400萬的膠囊；英國人也把薑視為一種成藥。國防醫學院航太醫學所的研究也初步證實，乾生薑磨粉服用，可經由胃黏膜吸收，直接可以抑制胃蠕動的頻率與振幅，紓解胃部的不適感。傳統醫學裡，生薑早就是嘔家聖藥，因為它可減緩腸胃的蠕動及收縮。
生薑可以舒緩害喜
因為抗噁、止嘔，薑可說是女性的親密夥伴。在歐美，已經有些專家或產科醫師，會向孕婦推薦，用一點點薑去抵擋害喜現象，而且不會影響胎兒。連許多女性在月事期間會有的嘔吐現象或寒性體質的經痛服用濃縮生薑膠囊就會舒服些。
發表在2001年4月號的婦產科學期刊（Obstetrics and Gynecology）的一項研究顯示，生薑可能有助於減輕懷孕初期反胃和嘔吐的現象。研究人員讓32位孕婦連續4天每天服用含有1克薑的濃縮生薑膠囊補充劑後，與35位服用安慰劑的婦女相比較，發現確實比較不容易出現反胃的感覺，嘔吐的次數也較少。 早先的研究發現，生薑可以減少暈車時及手術後的反胃現象，這次的研究則顯示，它對孕婦似乎也有相同的功效。不過研究人員強調，在推薦生薑治療害喜之前，顯然還需要做些大型的研究，找出孕婦服用生薑是否會引起罕見的副作用。雖然生薑似乎不會對母親或嬰兒造成任何副作用，但研究人員認為，這項發現還需要更多的研究來加以證實。
Ginger Reduces Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy
WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Apr 11 - Ginger 1 g per day significantly reduces the severity of the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, report investigators in Thailand. Dr. Teraporn Vutyavanich and colleagues, of Chiang Mai University, randomly assigned 32 women attending an antenatal clinic to treatment with ginger, and 35 to placebo. The ginger, prepared by baking fresh ginger root and grinding it to a powder, was administered in 250-mg capsules q.i.d. Outcomes are reported in the April issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. After 4 days of treatment, nausea scores based on a 10-cm visual analog scale decreased by a median of 3.4 in the ginger-treated group and 1.5 in the placebo-treated group, a significant difference. At the 1-week followup visit, 87.5% of those treated with ginger reported symptom improvement, compared with 28.6% of the control subjects. During the day before treatment began, 100% of those in the ginger group and 94.3% in the placebo group had vomited at least once. After 4 days, 37.5% in the treatment group had vomited, compared with 65.7% in the placebo group. Adverse effects — one case each of abdominal discomfort, heartburn, and diarrhea in the ginger group — were minor and did not prevent subjects from continuing the treatment regimen. No significant differences were observed in spontaneous abortions, term deliveries, or cesarean deliveries. There were no cases of congenital anomalies. Obstet Gynecol 2001;97:577-582.
Ginger reduces motion sickness May 27, 2000 Reuters, New York
Ginger is effective in reducing nausea due to motion sickness, according to researchers at the Digestive Disease Week meetings here. Ginger is a Chinese herbal remedy that has been traditionally used to reduce nausea. For the first time, Dr. Wei Ming Sun and colleagues, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, have conducted a study that proves ginger's effectiveness in relieving motion sickness symptoms.
Seven healthy people, aged 18 to 35 years, had motion sickness artificially induced, by being spun in a large drum 30 minutes after eating a meal. Study participants were given either 1,000 milligrams of ginger powder or a placebo (inactive) pill one hour before motion sickness was induced.
Nausea scores during the drum rotation, rated on a scale of 1 to 3, were significantly lower for study participants who were given the ginger powder than for 'controls' given the placebo. The average ginger group score was 1.0, whereas the placebo group average was 2.5, the researchers report. Nausea scores after the cessation of the drum rotation, rated on a scale of 1 to 10, were 7.8 for the placebo group versus 1.5 for the ginger group. Those who took ginger experienced a greater delay in developing nausea than did the controls, 11.4 minutes in contrast to 4.6 minutes, Sun's group noted.
The investigators also measured the electrical activity of the stomach and found that ginger kept the rate of stomach contractions normal during drum rotation. In contrast, the placebo group experienced a 7% increase in stomach contractions. According to the authors, anti-motion sickness medications have significant side effects, such as dizziness and dry mouth. ''Ginger appears to be an effective herbal alternative to the medications,'' Sun told Reuters.
薑裡具抗噁心的成分究竟是什麼？很難確定。只知道從薑根分離出的生薑醇(gingerols)和薑烯酚(shogaols)，在動物實驗中，的確有止吐效應。
根據國防醫學院的觀察、檢驗，乾薑細粉對血壓、心跳、呼吸量、腦波等中樞神經並沒有影響，重要的是，它幾乎全在消化道起作用。所以，對一些人而言，薑比其他止噁藥理想，主要就因薑對消化系統起作用，而不是腦部中樞神經，不會有惱人的昏昏欲睡、耳鳴、神經緊張等副作用。
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