Epidemiology of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: prevalence, severity, determinants, and the importance of race/ethnicity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies that contributed to the epidemiology of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy have reported conflicting findings, and often failed to account for all possible co-variables necessary to evaluate the multidimensional associations. The objectives of this study were to: 1) Estimate the prevalence and the severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy during the 1^stand the 2^ndtrimester of pregnancy, and 2) Identify determinants of presence and severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy during the 1^stand 2^ndtrimesters separately, with a special emphasis on the impact of race/ethnicity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective study including pregnant women attending the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine or René-Laennec clinics for their prenatal care was conducted from 2004 to 2006. Women were eligible if they were ≥ 18 years of age, and ≤ 16 weeks of gestation. Women were asked to fill out a 1^sttrimester self-administered questionnaire and were interviewed over the telephone during their 2^ndtrimester of pregnancy. Presence of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy was based on the reporting of pregnant women (yes/no); severity of symptoms was measured by the validated modified-PUQE index.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 367 women included in the study, 81.2% were Caucasians, 10.1% Blacks, 4.6% Hispanics, and 4.1% Asians. Multivariate analyses showed that race/ethnicity was significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (Asians vs. Caucasians OR: 0.13; 95%CI 0.02–0.73; and Blacks vs. Caucasians OR: 0.29; 95%CI 0.09–0.99).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study showed that race/ethnicity was associated with the reporting of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy in the 1^sttrimester of pregnancy.</p

Managing hyperemesis gravidarum: a multimodal challenge

Up to 90% of pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting. When prolonged or severe, this is known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which can, in individual cases, be life threatening. In this article the aetiology, diagnosis and treatment strategies will be presented based on a selective literature review. Treatment strategies range from outpatient dietary advice and antiemetic drugs to hospitalization and intravenous (IV) fluid replacement in persistent or severe cases. Alternative methods, such as acupuncture, are not yet evidence based but sometimes have a therapeutic effect

Symptoms and health problems in pregnancy and their association with social factors, smoking, alcohol and caffeine intake and attitude to pregnancy

Summary. This paper describes the prevalence and correlates of symptoms and health problems in pregnancy using data from a prospective population study in London. Data on the prevalence of 11 symptoms and 12 health problems were obtained at three points in pregnancy from a consecutive sample of 1513 white women. Relationships were examined between these symptoms and a range of psychosocial factors including social class, education, marital status, income, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, attitude to pregnancy and whether the pregnancy was planned.Most women reported nausea and breast tenderness in early pregnancy. Heartburn, backache, constipation and headaches were also common. The prevalence of symptoms tended to increase with gestation except for nausea and vomiting. Women with manual occupations, minimum education, low income, single marital status and unplanned pregnancy reported more of most symptoms except nausea which was associated with higher social status. A negative attitude to pregnancy was associated with more headaches but was unrelated to nausea. Women who smoked reported more 'nerves and depression' but less nausea. In general, nausea and vomiting showed a different pattern of associations from all other symptoms