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This section contains helpful information and some positive things that you can do to manage your symptoms. However Pregnancy Sickness Support Trust will not be held responsible for any actions that you do or don’t take based on this information.
If you are suffering from nausea & vomiting in pregnancy there is nothing that you are doing or have done which has brought on these symptoms, apart from conceiving.
It is not known what causes nausea & vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). Rumours and speculation abound in both the medical and lay press. What can be said with certainty is that you are suffering from a common problem that affects women of all psychological types, ethnic backgrounds and types of employment.
Unpleasant or prolonged symptoms of NVP are not to be feared from the viewpoint of a healthy pregnancy. NVP does not mean there is anything wrong with your baby and NVP does not affect the baby. However, NVP can be very unpleasant indeed and occasionally awful for the mother-to-be and therefore it should not be ignored.
Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) is a common condition affecting 70% of pregnant women to a greater or lesser extent. About 45% of pregnant women suffer from vomiting with nausea, while an additional 25% have nausea alone.
These troublesome symptoms are self-limiting in duration, usually settling by 12 to 14 weeks after the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP). Only approximately 10% of NVP symptoms become worse after week 10 from LMP. However, occasionally women will continue to have symptoms beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Morning sickness does not describe the condition because NVP usually occurs both before and after midday. Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) or pregnancy sickness are more appropriate terms. However, if you read articles or hear about morning sickness, you can be sure they apply to the same condition as NVP throughout the day.
NVP occurs in episodes throughout each day. 85% of women have two episodes per day and 55% have three or more episodes each day. Between these episodes of nausea there are of course nausea-free intervals.When nausea is at its worst, between weeks 7 and 10 from LMP for the majority of women, these nausea-free intervals are shortened but fairly predictable, that is, they occur at approximately the same time each day.
Keeping a daily diary of your symptoms will enable you to be prepared to eat at those nausea-free times. The worse the NVP the shorter are these nausea-free intervals so it is important to be ready for them. Sometimes you may even feel hungry but the hunger is often quickly followed by the onset of nausea, so either hunger or a nausea-free interval gives you a chance to eat straightaway so make the most of this opportunity. If you cannot face a meal keep nibbling your favourite food, especially when nausea threatens. Stop eating as soon as your stomach feels full.
(To use the daily diary click on Daily Diary above)
Avoid certain foods which may contain harmful bacteria such as paté, liver, soft cheeses and undercooked eggs and avoid peanuts. Temporarily straying from what you consider to be your normal healthy diet will not harm you or your baby, eat whatever takes your fancy. It may surprise you that women with NVP may still have cravings for some foods (soil is not a food!) You may happily eat the food you crave while you have NVP. Eating salted crisps may help you to eat a better meal.
Fluids. Remember to keep up your fluid intake to prevent dehydration. Again use your nausea-free intervals to their best advantage alternately with solids, if you cannot take both at the same time. Drink any non-alcoholic fluid you like, but avoid soft drinks with a high caffeine content and not more than three cups of coffee or tea per day. Many women find lemonade or fruit drinks very acceptable. Water is excellent, if necessary as ice cubes or frozen fluids. It is so important to drink plenty of fluid, in small frequent quantities, if that is all your NVP will allow.
Odours. Eat cold food and hopefully your family will agree to do the same. Naturally you will avoid all odours and tastes that make your NVP worse. Your sensitive nose is possibly your worst enemy at present. The smell of cooking, especially fatty foods, coffee and tea, cigarette smoke or perfume are the most common items regularly stated by NVP sufferers to make their symptoms worse. Normal odours can become unpleasantly nauseous, making shopping and cooking a trial, so you may need to get extra help from your family or friends.
Take a pre- pregnancy prepared multi-vitamin which contains 400 microgram of folic acid daily, which is the correct dose in pregnancy but No Vitamin “A” throughout pregnancy, especially if you are not eating much. Avoid iron tablets while you have NVP, as they can make some women’s NVP worse, unless they are specially required, e.g., for anaemia.
Don’t smoke cigarettes. Surprisingly, smoking cigarettes can improve NVP, but smoking cigarettes also has very serious effects on the afterbirth and on the baby, so don’t smoke cigarettes. Indeed try to avoid a cigarette smoky atmosphere which may bring on NVP.
Rest, preferably lying down. The experiences given by pregnant women make rest their second most important way to help the symptoms of NVP. Pregnancy sickness is like motion sickness in this respect. Even small movements of the head, as in brushing your teeth, can make NVP worse.
Employment and housework. Five separate medical studies have shown that 30% of pregnant women in paid employment need time off work due to NVP. This statement indicates the significance of the condition. You are not alone if you require sickness benefit because of NVP! Several medical studies have shown that in excess of 50% of women with severe NVP struggle with their usual daily routine as housewives and mothers. Accept whatever help is offered. Indeed, organise the help if you can! A small weight loss can occur in early pregnancy but if you have lost more than 5% of your pre-pregnancy weight please tell your doctor. If you have recurrent vomiting watch for signs of dehydration which include dry lips and mouth, and really dark urine. Report dehydration to your doctor. The condition of hyperemesis gravidarum (severe pregnancy sickness) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies.
Try to be patient. By now you will already have advanced some weeks into your pregnancy and for about 1 in 3 women NVP ends abruptly.
Find a sympathetic listener to talk to while NVP continues. Our Tel. No. is 024 7638 2020 for information, or a phone back for support. This, along with practical reorganisation of household duties, particularly in the kitchen, will be a considerable help for you as the mother-to-be. Employers also need to recognise that about 8.6 million hours of paid employment are lost each year in England and Wales due to pregnancy sickness.
