Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of General Practice logoLink to The British Journal of General Practice
. 1993 Jun;43(371):245–248.

A prospective study of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

R Gadsby 1, A M Barnie-Adshead 1, C Jagger 1
PMCID: PMC1372422  PMID: 8373648

Abstract

The symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy were described by 363 pregnant women who kept daily symptom diaries. All delivered a single live baby. The majority of information collected was prospective, with the median day from last menstrual period to initial interview by the study midwife being day 57. It was found that 80% of women had symptoms, 28% experienced nausea only, while 52% had nausea and vomiting. The mean number of days from last menstrual period to onset and cessation of symptoms was 39 and 84, respectively, and 40% of women's symptoms ended abruptly. Cessation of symptoms occurred at approximately the same day from the last menstrual period whether they had begun early or later, severely or mildly [corrected]. The median total number of hours of nausea per pregnancy in those 292 women experiencing symptoms was 56, with peak symptoms occurring in the ninth week. Eighty five per cent of women experienced days with two episodes of nausea. Fifty three per cent of episodes of vomiting occurred between 06.00 hours and 12.00 hours. The symptom complex can be defined as episodic daytime pregnancy sickness. Among the study population, 206 women were in paid employment. Seventy three of these women (35%) spent a mean of 62 hours away from their paid work because of symptoms of nausea and vomiting, showing the socioeconomic significance of this condition. The detailed information gathered should help in the investigation of the aetiology of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Full text

PDF
245

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brandes J. M. First-trimester nausea and vomiting as related to outcome of pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 1967 Sep;30(3):427–431. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Clarke M., Clayton D. G., Mason E. S., MacVicar J. Asian mothers' risk factors for perinatal death--the same or different? A 10 year review of Leicestershire perinatal deaths. BMJ. 1988 Aug 6;297(6645):384–387. doi: 10.1136/bmj.297.6645.384. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Depue R. H., Bernstein L., Ross R. K., Judd H. L., Henderson B. E. Hyperemesis gravidarum in relation to estradiol levels, pregnancy outcome, and other maternal factors: a seroepidemiologic study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1987 May;156(5):1137–1141. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(87)90126-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DiIorio C. First trimester nausea in pregnant teenagers: incidence, characteristics, intervention. Nurs Res. 1985 Nov-Dec;34(6):372–374. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fairweather D. V. Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1968 Sep 1;102(1):135–175. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(68)90445-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Järnfelt-Samsioe A., Eriksson B., Waldenström J., Samsioe G. Some new aspects on emesis gravidarum. Relations to clinical data, serum electrolytes, total protein and creatinine. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 1985;19(4):174–186. doi: 10.1159/000299031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Järnfelt-Samsioe A., Samsioe G., Velinder G. M. Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy--a contribution to its epidemiology. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 1983;16(4):221–229. doi: 10.1159/000299262. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Klebanoff M. A., Koslowe P. A., Kaslow R., Rhoads G. G. Epidemiology of vomiting in early pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 1985 Nov;66(5):612–616. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kullander S., Källén B. A prospective study of drugs and pregnancy. II. Anti-emetic drugs. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1976;55(2):105–111. doi: 10.3109/00016347609156795. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Little R. E., Hook E. B. Maternal alcohol and tobacco consumption and their association with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1979;58(1):15–17. doi: 10.3109/00016347909154905. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. MEDALIE J. H. Relationship between nausea and/or vomiting in early pregnancy and abortion. Lancet. 1957 Jul 20;273(6986):117–119. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(57)91892-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Parhar R. S., Kennedy T. G., Lala P. K. Suppression of lymphocyte alloreactivity by early gestational human decidua. I. Characterization of suppressor cells and suppressor molecules. Cell Immunol. 1988 Oct 15;116(2):392–410. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(88)90240-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. SEMMENS J. P. Hyperemesis gravidarum; evaluation and treatment. Obstet Gynecol. 1957 May;9(5):586–594. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Tierson F. D., Olsen C. L., Hook E. B. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and association with pregnancy outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1986 Nov;155(5):1017–1022. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(86)90337-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Vellacott I. D., Cooke E. J., James C. E. Nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1988 Aug;27(1):57–62. doi: 10.1016/0020-7292(88)90088-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of General Practice are provided here courtesy of Royal College of General Practitioners

RESOURCES