Assessment of fetal and neonatal outcomes in the offspring of women who had been treated with dried ginger (Zingiberis rhizoma siccus) for a variety of illnesses during pregnancy

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate if exposure to dried ginger during pregnancy would increase the risk of adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes. Participants consisted of 159 singleton pregnant women who received dried ginger as a herbal medication. We also included a control group of 306 pregnant women who had not been exposed to any herbal medication or any known teratogen. No increased risk of major malformations was detected in exposed women (OR = 4.9; 95% CI 0.9–25.5; p = 0.051). The incidence of stillbirths in the exposed group was marginally higher than in the controls (OR = 7.8; 95% CI 0.9–70.3; p = 0.05). The risk was more evident when the exposed group was compared with the general population in the Republic of Korea (OR = 7.9; 95% CI 2.9–21.4; p < 0.0001). Other fetal and neonatal study outcomes investigated in the exposed group were similar (p > 0.05) to the controls. In conclusion, dried ginger does not appear to be a major teratogen. However, due to the limitations of the study, e.g. the large variability in the dose of dried ginger in the exposed group, as well as the concomitant exposure to other herbal medications, the increased incidence of stillbirths requires confirmation in larger cohort studies.