Pregnancy support - Pathology

Nausea - updated: 03 November 2008

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy

Am Fam Physician. 2003 Jul 1;68(1):121-8

Quinla JD, Hill DA.

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, commonly known as "morning sickness," affects approximately 80 percent of pregnant women. Although several theories have been proposed, the exact cause remains unclear. Recent research has implicated Helicobacter pylori as one possible cause. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy is generally a mild, self-limited condition that may be controlled with conservative measures. A small percentage of pregnant women have a more profound course, with the most severe form being hyperemesis gravidarum. Unlike morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum may have negative implications for maternal and fetal health. Physicians should carefully evaluate patients with nonresolving or worsening symptoms to rule out the most common pregnancy-related and nonpregnancy-related causes of severe vomiting. Once pathologic causes have been ruled out, treatment is individualized. Initial treatment should be conservative and should involve dietary changes, emotional support, and perhaps alternative therapy such as ginger or acupressure. Women with more complicated nausea and vomiting of pregnancy also may need pharmacologic therapy. Several medications, including pyridoxine and doxylamine, have been shown to be safe and effective treatments. Pregnant women who have severe vomiting may require hospitalization, orally or intravenously administered corticosteroid therapy, and total parenteral nutrition.

Publication Types:

• Review

Treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy

Can Fam Physician Vol. 53, No. 12, December 2007, pp.2109 - 2111

Adrienne Einarson, RN, Caroline Maltepe, Rada Boskovic, MD and Gideon Koren, MD FRCPC

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) is the most common medical condition of pregnancy, affecting up to 80% of all pregnant women to some degree. In most cases, it subsides by the 16th week of pregnancy, although up to 20% of women continue to have symptoms throughout pregnancy. Severe NVP (hyperemesis gravidarum) affects less than 1% of women, but it can be debilitating, sometimes requiring hospitalization and rehydration.1 Women suffer not only physically, but also psychologically, which has been documented in a number of studies.2–4 In addition, some women have decided to terminate their pregnancies rather than tolerate the severe symptoms.5

Treatment options for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy

Pharmacotherapy. 2006 Sep;26(9):1273-87

Badell ML, Ramin SM, Smith JA.

Nausea and vomiting, common symptoms during pregnancy, often are regarded as an unpleasant but normal part of pregnancy during the first and early second trimesters. Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) occurs in approximately 75-80% of pregnant women. The exact etiology and pathogenesis of NVP are poorly understood and are most likely multifactorial. Some theories for the etiology of NVP are psychological predisposition, evolutionary adaptation, hormonal stimuli, and Helicobacter pylori infection. Treatment ranges from dietary and lifestyle changes to vitamins, antiemetics, and hospitalization for intravenous therapy. Treatment generally begins with nonpharmacologic interventions; if symptoms do not improve, drug therapy is added. Although NVP has been associated with a positive pregnancy outcome, the symptoms can significantly affect a woman's life, both personally and professionally. Given the substantial health care costs, as well as indirect costs, and the potential decrease in quality of life due to NVP, providers need to acknowledge the impact of NVP and provide appropriate treatment.

Publication Types:

• Review

Vitamin B6 is effective therapy for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study

Obstet Gynecol. 1991 Jul;78(1):33-6

Sahakian V, Rouse D, Sipes S, Rose N, Niebyl J.

Fifty-nine women completed a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study of pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) for the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Thirty-one patients received vitamin B6, 25-mg tablets orally every 8 hours for 72 hours, and 28 patients received placebo in the same regimen. Patients were categorized according to the presence of vomiting: severe nausea (score greater than 7) or mild to moderate nausea (score of 7 or less). The severity of nausea (as graded on a visual analogue scale of 1-10 cm) and the number of patients with vomiting over a 72-hour period were used to evaluate response to therapy. Twelve of 31 patients in the vitamin B6 group had a pre-treatment nausea score greater than 7 (severe) (mean 8.2 +/- 0.8), as did ten of 28 patients in the placebo group (mean 8.7 +/- 0.9) (not significant). Following therapy, there was a significant difference in the mean "difference in nausea" score (ie, baseline - post-therapy nausea) between patients with severe nausea receiving vitamin B6 (mean 4.3 +/- 2.1) and placebo (mean 1.8 +/- 2.2) (P less than .01). In patients with mild to moderate nausea and in the group as a whole, no significant difference between treatment and placebo was observed. Fifteen of 31 vitamin B6-treated patients had vomiting before therapy, compared with ten of 28 in the placebo group (not significant). At the completion of 3 days of therapy, only eight of 31 patients in the vitamin B6 group had any vomiting, compared with 15 of 28 patients in the placebo group (P less than .05)

Publication Types:

• randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study

Publication Types:

• Review