Purpose: the aim of the present work was to study the chronic action of the antiemetic domperidone on the pregnancy of albino rats. Methods: fifty albino, pregnant Wistar rats were randomly allocated to five groups: GI (control I) = intact rats; GII (control II) = rats receiving the drug vehicle (distilled water) by gavage at the same schedule of the experimental groups; rats in groups GIII, GIV and GV were treated with domperidone by gavage, 2, 6 and 12 mg/kg per day, respectively, divided into 4 daily doses, always in 1 ml of distilled water, from time zero up to the 20th day of pregnancy. The evolution of body weight gain was followed throughout and the animals were sacrificed at term (20th day) by deep ether anesthesia. Number of fetuses, placenta and implantation sites, placenta and fetus weight, fetal malformations and maternal and fetal mortality were evaluated. Results: we observed only intrauterine fetal mortality with 14, 26 and 32 in 74, 60 and 57 newborns of the groups III, IV and V, respectively. Conclusion: though the results of animal experimentation cannot directly be transposed to human conditions, this paper calls attention to the need for a safe judgement when prescribing domperidone to a first-trimester pregnant patient in order to reduce her emetic crises.
