Preggie Pop Drops morning sickness relief candy, assorted flavors for pregnancy, 48 count

Description

Preggie Pop Drops are individually wrapped sour candy drops made for pregnancy nausea, 48 to a bag, in lemon, tangerine, raspberry and green apple. They're made by Three Lollies, they're gluten-free and kosher, and they cost about $15.

Now the thing no one selling these will tell you, and it matters if you came here from a search for ginger candy. The assorted pack contains no ginger. The ingredients are dried cane syrup, corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavours made with essential oils, and natural colours. Three Lollies does make a ginger variety; this isn't it.

So the ginger research, which is real and which we cover on our Gin Gins ginger chews page, does not apply to this product. If a ginger dose is what you're after, buy those instead.

So what do they actually do?

More than you'd think, and less than the packaging implies.

There is no active ingredient here doing pharmacological work. What there is: a strong sour flavour, something to suck on slowly, and a small amount of sugar. That combination is one of the oldest coping strategies for nausea there is, and it's the reason hospitals hand out boiled sweets and ginger ale rather than because either is a drug.

Sucking a sour sweet gives you saliva, a competing taste, something to do with your mouth, and a few minutes of distraction. For mild first-trimester queasiness, particularly the kind that spikes between meals or in the car, that is often enough to get through the wave. It is also easier to face than food when nothing appeals.

That is a legitimate reason to buy them. It's just a different claim from "clinically proven nausea relief", and we'd rather say which one we're making.

Why women love it

• Sour, not sweet-sickly: the sourness is the point, and it's what people reach for when sweet things have stopped appealing
• Individually wrapped: handbag, car door, bedside drawer, hospital bag. Nausea doesn't wait until you're near the kitchen
• Four flavours in one bag: useful, because in pregnancy a flavour you loved last week can turn on you
• Something to do at 4 a.m.: when you're awake, queasy and don't want to eat
• About $15 for 48: roughly 30 cents a drop, low stakes if they don't help
• Gluten-free, kosher, no artificial colours or flavours

Best for

• Women with mild, wave-like nausea who want something in a pocket
• Anyone who has gone off sweet things and wants sour instead
• Commuters and desk workers, where a drop is discreet and a snack isn't
• Packing a hospital bag or a first-trimester survival kit
• Not the right product if you want ginger. This pack has none. Choose the ginger chews
• Not a treatment. If you're vomiting repeatedly or losing weight, this is not the intervention you need. See Mindy's note
• Contains sugar, which matters if you're managing gestational diabetes

Related reading

If you want the full picture rather than a product, start with Mindy's guide to managing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, which walks through the treatments in the order a provider would actually try them. Her ten common pregnancy symptoms guide covers the rest of the first trimester, and the timeline of early pregnancy symptoms sets out when nausea usually starts and eases, which is often the reassurance people are really looking for.

Explore more

These sit in our pregnancy essentials collection, curated by Mindy Motta, FNP-C. If you want actual ginger at a dose close to the one used in research, the Gin Gins ginger chews are the better buy. And if nausea is disrupting sleep as well as your days, the Unisom SleepTabs page explains the doxylamine question, which is the one worth raising with your provider.

A quiet companion for the wait

The first trimester is a lot of lying still and waiting for a feeling to pass. Our affirmation candles were made for that stretch, though if smells are setting you off right now, save this one for the second trimester.

A note from Mindy on what actually works for morning sickness

I want to be useful here rather than polite, because nausea in pregnancy is one of the areas where good information is hardest to find and the internet is loudest.

Start with the honest hierarchy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is clear about this. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) on its own, or B6 combined with doxylamine, is safe and effective and should be considered first-line pharmacotherapy for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Ginger is listed separately, as a nonpharmacologic option that has shown some benefit for nausea symptoms.

Notice what isn't on that list. Sour candy isn't a treatment, and I'm not going to pretend it is. What it is, is a coping tool, and coping tools are worth having. Just don't let a bag of drops be the reason you spend another three weeks feeling terrible without asking for something that works.

The combination worth knowing about. Doxylamine plus B6 is the same pairing sold on prescription as Diclegis or Bonjesta. Many people get there more cheaply with over-the-counter doxylamine and a B6 tablet. If you're going to have that conversation with your provider, here is the detail that trips people up: Unisom SleepTabs contain doxylamine. Unisom SleepGels contain diphenhydramine. Those are different drugs, in near-identical boxes, on the same shelf. The tabs are the ones in the regimen. Do not work out doses from a website, including this one. Ask your provider what to take and how much.

On ginger, briefly, because it's the other thing everyone recommends. The evidence is decent and narrower than people think. Around a gram a day for at least four days is associated with a real improvement in nausea. It does not reliably reduce vomiting. If you are actually being sick rather than feeling sick, ginger is not your answer.

Now the part I most want you to read. Get seen if you cannot keep fluids down for 24 hours, if you're losing weight, if you're passing very little urine or it's dark, if you're dizzy on standing, or if you're vomiting many times a day. That picture can be hyperemesis gravidarum, it is not something to tough out, and it is treatable. Too many women are told this is just part of pregnancy while getting genuinely unwell. It isn't, and you don't have to earn help by suffering first.

One smaller thing that helps more than it should: eat something before you sit up in the morning. Crackers by the bed, eaten lying down, then wait ten minutes. An empty stomach makes all of this worse, and the drops are useful for exactly the same reason.

— Mindy Motta, FNP-C

FAQs

Do Preggie Pop Drops actually work?

They help some people with mild nausea, through the sour taste, the act of sucking something slowly, and a little sugar, rather than through any active ingredient. That's a real coping mechanism and it's why boiled sweets have been handed to nauseated people for a century. But there's no clinical trial showing Preggie Pop Drops reduce nausea, and they aren't a treatment. If nausea is affecting your eating or your days, ask your provider about vitamin B6 with or without doxylamine.

Do Preggie Pop Drops contain ginger?

The assorted pack doesn't. Its flavours are lemon, tangerine, raspberry and green apple, and the ingredients are dried cane syrup, corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavours made with essential oils, and natural colours. Three Lollies does sell a ginger variety separately. If ginger is what you want, ginger chews deliver a meaningful amount and these don't.

What's the difference between Preggie Pops and Preggie Pop Drops?

Pops are lollipops on a stick; drops are smaller wrapped lozenges you suck. Same idea, same company. The drops are more discreet and easier to carry, which is why most people end up with them. Both are candy rather than medicine.

Are Preggie Pop Drops safe during pregnancy?

They're sweets, so yes for most people. They contain sugar, which is worth accounting for if you're managing gestational diabetes, and citric acid, which can be uncomfortable if you have significant reflux or a sore mouth from vomiting. Nothing in them is a reason for concern in a normal pregnancy.

How many can I have in a day?

There's no dose because there's no active ingredient. Practically, they're sugar, so most people space them out rather than working through the bag. If you're relying on them constantly through the day, that's a signal your nausea has outgrown a candy solution and is worth a conversation with your provider.

What actually is the first-line treatment for morning sickness?

ACOG names vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) alone, or B6 combined with doxylamine, as safe and effective first-line pharmacotherapy. That pairing is what's sold on prescription as Diclegis. Ginger is listed as a nonpharmacologic option with some benefit for nausea. Candy isn't in the guidance. Talk to your provider before starting anything, including doses.

When should I stop managing this myself and call someone?

If you can't keep fluids down for 24 hours, you're losing weight, you're passing little or very dark urine, you feel dizzy standing up, or you're vomiting many times a day. That can be hyperemesis gravidarum, which is treatable and is not something to endure. Call your provider rather than waiting for your next appointment.

Will they help with nausea that isn't pregnancy-related?

Possibly, for the same non-specific reasons. People use them for motion sickness, chemotherapy-related nausea and hangovers. There's nothing pregnancy-specific in the formula; the branding is what's pregnancy-specific. If you're managing nausea from a medical treatment, ask your care team first, since they may have something considerably more effective.