Health Buzz: Antinausea Drug OK During Pregnancy and Other Health News

Study Finds Nausea Med for Morning Sickness Doesn't Harm Baby

Metoclopramide, a drug commonly used to treat an upset stomach, does not appear to harm a developing fetus when given early in pregnancy, Reuters reports. While the medicine is used often in Europe and Israel for morning sickness, in the U.S. and Canada, it's used only to treat the most severe cases. In a study of 3,458 women who took the drug, researchers in Israel found babies had no greater risk of low-birth weight, preterm birth, or birth defects when compared with those of 78,245 women who did not. Their findings are published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

Pregnant or thinking about it? Here are 10 tips for keeping your fetus safe. Also, learn how much weight to gain during pregnancy and the right approach to eating fish while pregnant.

7 Ways Health Reform is Going to Affect You

Sen. Ted Kennedy introduced a 651-page bill yesterday, the first of several anticipated in the next few weeks that will outline the restructuring of America's healthcare system. President Obama has promised that health reform will bring high-quality, affordable care to everyone. But the sweeping changes will call for sacrifice on the part of most individuals, U.S. News's Dr. Bernadine Healy writes. She lists 7 ways that your healthcare experience is likely to change with the proposed new system.

With the changes, expect to owe more income tax, Dr. Healy writes. Your Social Security and Medicare taxes would rise as tax breaks geared to help people manage their health expenses are reduced or eliminated. Your medical record would never be lost and would be available wherever you go. But it would be available for medical analysis, including comparative-effectiveness research that analyzes which treatments work best at what cost. Also, you might find your doctor prescribing acupuncture for your back pain, as complementary and alternative medicine would be encouraged by your health plan as a low-cost substitute for standard care, Dr. Healy writes.

Full details of the proposed changes won't be released until later this month at the earliest. In May, Dr. Healy voiced concern about how the proposed healthcare policies would be implemented. She discussed privacy issues surrounding electronic medical records, comparative effectiveness studies, and the public health insurance option that would compete with private insurance plans.

Getting Enough Sleep? Consider Your Heart

Earlier this week researchers reported that middle-aged adults who missed an average one hour of sleep each night over a 5-year period had a 37-percent increased risk of high blood pressure. The study from the University of Chicago followed 578 adults. Of the group, just 1 percent got the recommended 8 hours or more of sleep a night.

A December study found that longer sleep duration for people in their 30s and 40s may decrease the risk of coronary artery calcification, a predictor of atherosclerosis and heart disease, U.S. News's Sarah Baldauf reported. That study showed just one extra hour each night lowered by an estimated 33 percent the odds of having calcification in blood vessels. According to the study authors, getting that extra hour brings a benefit, in cardiovascular terms, similar to that of lowering systolic blood pressure (the top number in the blood pressure ratio) by 17 points, Baldauf wrote.