Grab Your Pitchforks, Sanctimommies! Pregnant Kim Kardashian Is Promoting Morning Sickness Drugs On Instagram
Kim Kardashian has found herself embroiled in another controversy this week when she posted a photo to Instagram promoting a morning sickness pill that she says has helped her with nausea during her second pregnancy. Now people on Twitter and Instagram are excoriating the reality TV star and cell phone game mogul for promoting the pregnancy drug, and also making sure to throw a bit of derision the direction of any woman who took drugs for morning sickness.
“I had the worst morning sickness throughout my pregnancy,” said a poster going by the name bellayunica1. “I took it like a tough woman. No medication, nothing. I don’t trust those anti morning sickness pills, they have been known to cause fetal defects in the past.”
“Just eat yogurt that will calm morning sickness,” said a poster called seamstofitdeb.
Oh yeah. I’m sure yogurt is the perfect cure for hyperemesis gravidarum, if only doctors knew about Danon, no one would ever have to take drugs again.
I cannot for the life of me tell why anyone is surprised to see Kim Kardashian promoting a morning sickness pill. As anybody with a functioning Internet connection probably knows by now, the Kardashians make a ton of money by advertising products on Instagram. They aren’t even particularly subtle about it. If you scroll through a Kardashian Instagram, you will see boobs. You will see butts. You will see contouring. You will see Kylie Jenner showing off her new mattress.
No, it’s not subtle. But that kind of endorsement is a big part of how 17-year-old Kylie Jenner wound up buying that house she’s showing off in the above Instagram. Endorsement and licensing deals are a big part of what keeps the Kardashian lifestyle afloat.
And there’s nothing particularly sketchy about Kim Kardashian promoting a morning sickness drug, especially if she uses it. It’s only available by prescription, so it’s not like a pregnant woman can go get herself some Diclegis without consulting a doctor. And according to Yahoo Parenting, Diclegis is “a Pregnancy Category A drug, meaning that ‘adequate and well-controlled studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus in the first trimester of pregnancy.'” It is reportedly a B6 vitamin with an antihistamine added, and doctors say it is both safe and effective.
If anything, Kardashian has done a good thing by helping in some small way to demystify and de-villify the process of taking medication for severe nausea during pregnancy. Today alone I have seen mothers called “despicable,” “careless,” and “stupid” for taking a medication their doctors prescribed to help them deal with morning sickness severe enough to require treatment. That’s cruel, sanctimonious, and not fair. If Kim Kardashian’s support helps counter that kind of attack and makes someone feel better about taking a prescription medication during pregnancy, then good for her.
