E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSRachael Rettner
MyHealthNewsDaily
In some women, morning sickness might be an indicator of more serious later-pregnancy complications, including preterm delivery, a new study says.
In the study, women who reported nausea and vomiting in pregnancy that interfered with their ability to live normally were 23 percent more likely to deliver their baby before 34 weeks, and 31 percent more likely to have high blood pressure or preeclampsia, compared with women who said their morning sickness did not substantially affect their lives.
Women with life-affecting morning sickness were also about twice as likely to have low weight gain during pregnancy.
The findings underscore the importance of recognizing morning sickness and managing it, said study researcher Dr. Gary Stanziano, of Alere Health, a company that produces health care products and offers a program to treat morning sickness.
"This should not be a condition that’s taken lightly," Stanziano said.
Severe morning sickness
About 50 to 60 percent of pregnant women experience some type of morning sickness during pregnancy, Stanziano said. About 1 percent have a severe, persistent form known as hyperemesis gravidarum, which can lead to malnutrition.
While the immediate effects on mothers are easy to observe, few studies have investigated the impact of nausea and vomiting on the later stages of pregnancy, and delivery.
Stanziano and colleagues analyzed information from 81,486 women enrolled in an Alere maternity education program who delivered between 2004 and 2011. After delivery, the women were asked whether they had experienced nausea and vomiting during their pregnancy that affected their ability to do their job or their daily activities. About 5,200 women, or 6.4 percent of those surveyed, reported nausea and vomiting that affected their quality of life. About 1,800 women of these said they did not require any interventions, while about 3,300 required hydration or pharmacological treatments.
Of those who said the nausea and vomiting affected their quality of life, 23 percent had low weight gain for their pregnancy, compared with13.7 percent of women who did not have such sickness.
In addition, about 10 percent of those who got sick had infants who were small for their gestational age when they were born, compared with 8.4 percent of those who didn't have nausea and vomiting.
Treatments
Researchers aren't sure why women with severe morning sickness saw these effects. But poor nutrition and too little weight gain in pregnancy may contribute to the risk, Stanziano said.
Indeed, it's hard to tell whether the effects seen in the study were due to nausea and vomiting, or to the low weight gain these women experienced, said Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who was not involved in the study. Poor weight gain has previously been shown to be associated with preterm delivery and babies born small for their gestational age, Wu said.
Fortunately, only a small number of pregnant women experience significant nausea and vomiting that lasts beyond 10 to 16 weeks of pregnancy, Wu said.
Women who do have such symptoms should discuss them with their doctors, who may be able to provide solutions, Wu said.
While no drugs for pregnancy nausea and vomiting have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, many excellent therapies exist, Stanziano said. These include hydration and nutrition supplements, as well as some medications used off label, Stanziano said.
A change of diet, such as eating six to seven small meals a day rather than three large meals, may also help, Wu said.
The findings were presented last week at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting in Dallas. Study data was provided by Alere and analyzed by researchers at Carolinas Medical Center, with no additional funding from either organization.
Leave a Comment:
There's an exception to every rule. I guess that's me because I had severe morning sickness with both my kids and they were both late and weighed over 8 pounds.
I had severe morning sickness that lasted my entire pregnancy. I was unable to function normally and couldn't work. I was unable to "keep down" prenatal vitamins, "nutritional supplements" or any meals a day, small or otherwise. I was hospitalized and needed hydration. I survived on cranberry juice and/or lemonade mixed with seltzer water. My son was born on time, normal birth weight and is a very happy and normal 6 year old! (Thank goodness!) I feel very lucky because nausea/"morning" sickness is not taken seriously by the medical community or society at large. And, yes, I tried homeopathic solutions too and nothing worked for me except the birth of my son.
I had it with both of my pregnancy and one miscarriage at a 4 months. It was horrible!
It's interesting that it would take 35,000 years of human development for medical researchers to make this connection.
I had this condition with both my pregnancies. My first one I lost over 30 pounds and never gained it back. Currently I am eight months pregnant and 3 pounds over my starting weight after losing 20 pounds and gaining it back. Fortunately my first child was very healthy and my second one will be (if the ultrasounds are to be believed). It is scary though, I worried so much about how my lack of nutrition would/will affect them.
No kidding?!?! Women who can't keep food down don't gain weight? Wild! ;)
I knew two women, one my cousin, the other was a customer that used to shop at a store I worked at, both pregnant with twins, and both had terrible morning sickness all throughout their pregnancy. My cousin delivered 4 days early, which is to be expected with twins to deliver weeks before that, and my customer delivered her twins 9 days AFTER her due date! Both had normal, health, happy babies.
I've always wondered why researchers aren't checking into why some women like me have NO morning sickness during pregnancy. I had three kids, never threw up once while I was pregnant. Perhaps information about women who do not experience morning sickness could translate into helping women who do. Are we doing something different? Is it genetics, hormones, body type? I would like to be able to assure my daughters that they will have a similar experience to mine, but I don't know if I was one-of-a-kind or one of a long line.
I just participated in a study that is exploring a possible link between hyperemesis gravidarum and auto-immune response. There seems to be a genetic component as well.
I had severe morning sickness throughout my pregnancy. Trying to eat smaller more frequent meals did not help. I had gained a total of three pounds. When I tried to discuss this with my doctor she was not concerned. Around 7 1/2 months she decided to have a thyroid test done and it was found that my thyroid was underactive. A week later I had another test and this time my it was overactive. Again, she was not concerned. I was 21 and obviously very naive and trusting and thought that if one more thing happens I would find another doctor. Well, a week or so later I started to go into the end stages of liver failure. My son was delivered through an emergency C-section and by a miracle healthy! While, I was diagnosed with HELLP Syndrome and went into multi-system organ failure with additional complications. Also, by some miracle I survived and I am blessed with good health. I hope that the research on the link between severe morning sickness and auto-immune responses becomes a significant focus of research.
This was me with both of our children. Severely nauseous the whole time and 2 preemie babies (5 weeks and 3 1/2 weeks early). Both had stays in the NICU. I hope this helps researchers and doctors come up with better ways to manage morning sickness.
I am a 2 time survivor of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). This is a severe condition that involves unimaginable suffering. We are not talking about regular morning sickness, or anything that resembles morning sickness, really. If regular remedies provide relief, you DO NOT have HG. We are talking about constant, severe nausea and vomiting that only MIGHT be helped by multiple medications, zofran + compazine or reglan, daily IVs, a picc line, a feeding tube, home care, hospitalization, etc..
My babies were both 3 weeks early and were very healthy. But it's not usually the babies who have problems. The mothers who endure HG not only have the lonely experience of hardly anyone understanding what they're going through, but also many medical professionals are unsure of how to diagnose and treat this condition. If you think you might have HG, GET HELP, because you will not get better until at least week 20, if you get better at all....
"A change of diet, such as eating six to seven small meals a day rather than three large meals, may also help, Wu said." Typical. There just aren't many people who understand. IF YOU ARE VOMITING EVERYTHING YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH, YOU CANNOT EAT 6-7 SMALL MEALS A DAY, GENIUS!!! Yeaaahhh, I thought I'd try daily IVs, a picc line, or a feeding tube because it's so convenient and comfortable, but you're right, maybe since I'm still losing weight with those, I'm sure ginger and some crackers will do the trick. Oh, and yeah, I forgot that b6 will cure me... :P
I know exactly what you're talking about, I got SO sick of hearing, "Well, have you tried ginger tea?" "Have you tried crackers?" Yes, because it didn't occur to me to try those things before I started needing pharmaceuticals and hospitalizations. One nurse even told me, "You just need to think positive, if you assume you're going to throw up, you probably will." I wanted to smack her.
Bethkat : "One nurse even told me, "You just need to think positive, if you assume you're going to throw up, you probably will." I wanted to smack her."
I would have. I applaud your self- control :)))))))))
Helpful websites for those suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum, experiencing severe nausea and vomiting:
www.helpher.org
www.beyondmorningsickness.com
I had severe morning sickness and real major dental decay from my pregnancy due to it because of the stomach acid. I had medical and when my dental complication arouse because of my severe morning sickness all the way to 7 months they told me it was my problem that if i lost the baby I could just have another one this was 3 goverment agencies from dentical and medical.