Disclaimer
The information provided on this website is not meant to suggest any medical course of action without further discussion with a qualified health care professional. Rather the information is intended to inform and to raise awareness so that these issues can be raised for discussion with qualified health care professionals. The responsibility for any medical treatment rests with the prescriber.
Ans Generally the reasons why some women suffer from Pregnancy Sickness and not others isn’t very clear, but one thing that is known is that Pregnancy Sickness does not arise from the baby, but from hormones produced by the placenta, which is often called the afterbirth.
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Ans There are at least 12 hormones and at least one significant enzyme produced by placental cells which can affect pregnancy sickness. The production of each of these can vary from one pregnancy to the next.
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Ans Please see the “helpful information” section of this website for more about Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy.
Q. How can pregnancy sickness be treated?
Ans Please see the “treatments available” section of this website for more about treatments available for those suffering from pregnancy sickness.
Q. Is nausea & vomiting in pregnancy (N.V.P) normal?
Ans Yes, about 70% of pregnant women who have a normal successful pregnancy have some degree of N.V.P. However, about 26% of women who do not have any N.V.P also have a normal successful pregnancy, so it can also be normal to have no N.V.P.
Q. Is nausea & vomiting in pregnancy (N.V.P) a good thing?
Ans Yes, even severe N.V.P is associated with a good prospect for a successful outcome for the pregnancy. There are no specific complications of pregnancy related to even severe N.V.P, but women with the worst hyperemesis gravidarum may be assessed for a low birth weight baby, although not a premature baby. The problems with N.V.P are that repeated vomiting by the ‘mother-to-be’ needs to be carefully watched for signs of her developing dehydration and the persistent nausea can make her feel diabolically ill.
Q. Why does pregnancy sickness last so long in some pregnancies?
Ans. This is a very difficult question to answer. The hormone hCG has a variety of 5 different forms. These are made by two enzymes produced by afterbirth cells. Only one form of this hCG is closely related to pregnancy sickness. Maybe this specific form of the hormone is occasionally produced later into the pregnancy?
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Q. Can Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy (NVP) stop before 12-14 weeks from Last Menstrual Period (LMP). If so what are the chances of this happening?
Ans. The time of cessation of NVP is variable. Yes - NVP can stop before week 12 from LMP in about 60% of pregnant women according to one investigation but in only 27% in another investigation.
Even when NVP starts early after LMP or severely, it usually ends between weeks 12-14 from LMP.
NVP stops quite suddenly in approximately 30% of women.