How does sickness affect pregnancy

With treatment, women with severe morning sickness can feel better and get the nourishment they need so they and their babies thrive. And lifestyle changes can help ease nausea and vomiting and make the pregnancy more enjoyable. With time, symptoms usually do improve. And, of course, they stop by the time a woman's next journey starts: parenthood. Severe Morning Sickness Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What's Morning Sickness? What Causes Severe Morning Sickness?

Other things that can increase a woman's chances of having severe morning sickness include: carrying multiples twins, triplets, etc. When Should I Call the Doctor? One thousand two hundred thirty-eight women in the prospective Cambridge Baby Growth Study filled in pregnancy questionnaires which included questions relating to adverse effects of pregnancy and drugs taken during that time.

Only three women in the cohort reported having had hyperemesis gravidarum although a further 17 women reported taking anti-emetics during pregnancy. Of those women who did not take anti-emetics Vomiting during pregnancy was associated with higher risk of having a low birth weight baby odds ratio 3. The higher risk was not evident in those women who only experienced nausea odds ratio 1.

Vomiting in early pregnancy, even when not perceived to be sufficiently severe to merit treatment, is associated with a higher risk of delivering a low birth weight baby. Early pregnancy vomiting might therefore be usable as a marker of higher risk of low birth weight in pregnancy. This may be of benefit in situations where routine ultrasound is not available to distinguish prematurity from fetal growth restriction, so low birth weight is used as an alternative.

Peer Review reports. Low birth weight LBW leads to a higher risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity, including impaired growth and cognitive development [ 1 ]. More long-term complications include higher risks for high blood pressure [ 2 ] and cardiovascular disease [ 3 ], impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes [ 4 ], early age at menarche [ 5 ] and menopause [ 6 ], and reduced bone mineral density [ 7 ] and osteoporosis [ 8 ]. LBW can relate to one or both of premature birth and fetal growth restriction, or being constitutionally small, and risk of LBW can be related to such factors as ethnic differences, multiple birth pregnancies, maternal age at birth, fetal environmental factors such as exposure to alcohol, smoking or illicit drugs, maternal nutrition during pregnancy, poor socioeconomic status [ 9 ] and genetic defects [ 10 ].

Another risk factor appears to be hyperemesis gravidarum [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], a severe form of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy that can lead to maternal dehydration and weight loss. Treatment of severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy with anti-emetics may even be associated with a reduction in the prevalence of LBW [ 14 , 15 ], although such findings are by no means universal [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The only recent related evidence suggests that it may be associated with being small for gestational age SGA due to fetal growth restriction, one of the main reasons for a baby having a LBW [ 19 ].

This study was therefore designed to test the hypothesis that nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, of insufficient severity to require treatment, is associated with the risk of delivering a LBW baby.

To do this we used data collected for the Cambridge Baby Growth Study. The prospective and longitudinal Cambridge Baby Growth Study recruited mothers and their partners and offspring attending ultrasound clinics during early pregnancy at the Rosie Maternity Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom, between and [ 20 ]. All mothers were over 16 years of age. Birth weights of their babies, their sex and their gestational age at birth were extracted from hospital notes, having been recorded there by midwives.

LBW was defined as a birth weight of less than 2. SGA was classified as being in the lowest tenth percentile for gestational age. Prematurity was defined as being born prior to week 37 of gestation. Categorisation according to whether or not the participants developed gestational diabetes [ 21 ] or gestational hypertension [ 22 ] has been described previously.

In this cohort, Each of the study participants was given a printed questionnaire at recruitment with questions to answer and return once the pregnancy was completed [ 23 ]. They were encouraged to fill it in as the pregnancy progressed. The questionnaires included boxes to tick if the participants had experienced nausea or had vomited during pregnancy.

If either of these boxes were ticked there were further boxes to fill in concerning the timing i. This means that nausea and vomiting prior to attending the booking clinic would have had to have been recalled over a maximum period of several weeks whereas nausea and vomiting subsequent to that could be recorded as the pregnancy progressed requiring recollection over a much shorter period of time.

A total of women The birth weights of the remaining babies, adjusted for pre-pregnancy maternal BMI, gestational age at birth, parity and sex, were not different between those that completed the questionnaire and those that did not filled in questionnaire 3. Of those women that filled in their questionnaires only 3 reported that they had hyperemesis gravidarum and a further 17 were treated with anti-emetics: cyclizine 7 , promethazine 5 , prochlorperazine 4 , metoclopramide 2 , domperidone 2 , prednisolone 2 , chlorphenamine 1 , ondansetron 1 , chlorpromazine 1 and unknown 1.

These 20 women were excluded from this specific analysis in order to test only those women who had a potentially milder phenotype. Those that reported vomiting without nausea had no evidence of concurrent urinary or chest infections, or evidence of the vomiting occurring just in the final trimester of pregnancy.

The body mass indexes BMI were calculated dividing the maternal weights prior to pregnancy by their heights squared. Associations with LBW were adjusted for the following confounders: parity, marital and smoking statuses, and ethnicity [ 24 ]. Associations between nausea and vomiting and quantitative continuous variables such as BMI and maternal age were tested using linear regression models adjusted for confounders where necessary.

Table 1 shows the clinical characteristics of the different groups tested. These differences in clinical characteristics from those women who did not experience nausea or vomiting, were not evident in those women who experienced nausea but not vomiting. This relationship was still evident after further adjustment was made for maternal BMI prior to pregnancy OR 3.

Table 2 shows other birth characteristics of women according to their experience of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Despite the differences in risk of LBW, there was no apparent difference in mean birth weight, gestational age at birth or prevalence of prematurity or SGA.

Similarly there was no apparent difference in the birth weight adjusted for pre-pregnancy maternal BMI, gestational age at birth, sex and parity. However there was a slightly higher proportion of female babies born to mothers who experienced vomiting during pregnancy.

Figure 1 shows Kernel density estimation plots for unadjusted birth weight, gestational age at birth and birth weight for gestational age according to maternal exposure to nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Small differences in the distributions of these were evident in each plot. Kernel density estimation plots of a unadjusted birth weight distributions, b gestational age at birth and c birth weight adjusted for gestational age at birth percentiles in the Cambridge Baby Growth Study in babies whose mothers were not treated with anti-emetics in pregnancy.

The cut off for LBW is shown by the dotted line at 2. Nausea refers to those women who experienced nausea but not vomiting during pregnancy. Vomiting refers to those women who experienced vomiting during pregnancy, independently of whether or not they also experienced nausea.

The higher prevalence of giving birth to LBW babies in women who experienced vomiting was evident in those who experienced it in the first OR 4. However it was not evident in those who experienced it in the third trimester OR 1.

Vomiting in pregnancy, not treated with anti-emetics, is associated with a higher risk of giving birth to LBW babies in this study. This is consistent with reported associations between LBW or related phenotypes such as SGA and hyperemesis gravidarum [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], although such associations are not universal findings [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].

Nausea and vomiting with no reference to hyperemesis gravidarum has also been associated with a higher risk of LBW [ 33 ] and decreased birth weight [ 34 ] in some other studies, although no difference in risk was reported in others [ 19 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].

Although a systematic review [ 38 ] reported a lower risk of LBW in association with nausea and vomiting in pregnancy the studies that it was based looked at anti-emetic use to categories study participants [ 14 , 15 ].

This is therefore very different to our own study where we specifically excluded women who took anti-emetics in case these drugs affected pathways involved in regulating LBW risk [ 39 ].

Paracetamol, which is not an NSAID, is the preferred medicine for pain relief and temperature control during pregnancy. Pregnant women have a much higher chance of developing complications including life threatening complications if they get flu, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy. One of the most common complications of flu is bronchitis , a chest infection that can become serious and develop into pneumonia. Other complications are not common, but include:. If you have flu while you're pregnant, it could mean your baby is born prematurely or has a low birthweight , and can even lead to stillbirth or death in the first week of life.

Getting the flu vaccine is safe during any stage of pregnancy, from the first few weeks up to your expected due date. Women who have had the flu vaccine while pregnant also pass some protection on to their babies, which lasts for the first 6 months of their lives.

The vaccine also poses no risk to women who are breastfeeding , or to their babies. The flu vaccine is free for pregnant women as part of the National Immunisation Program. Read more about what vaccinations are safe during pregnancy. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Having the flu is never fun, but when you are pregnant, you need to be especially careful.

The flu shot is safe for pregnant women, and provides effective protection for you and your new-born baby for the first six months of their life. Read more on Department of Health website. The influenza vaccine is provided at no cost for pregnant women through the National Immunisation Program. What is Influenza? Read more on National Asthma Council Australia website. Everyone should be immunised against influenza this season when the vaccine becomes available, but pregnant women should be immunised at any time.

Read more on myDr website. Your healthcare provider is there to help you have the safest and healthiest pregnancy possible.

Do not hesitate to contact them with questions if you are sick while pregnant. It is essential to contact your provider if your symptoms cause you to miss meals, lose sleep, or if there is no improvement after a couple of days. They may need to prescribe an antibiotic to kill the infection. Yankowitz, Jerome. Drugs in Pregnancy in Gibbs, Ronald S. Common concerns and questions of pregnancy in Harms, Roger W. It features medicine tracking, meal recommendations, kicks counter, blood glucose tracking, and much more.

Getting Sick While Pregnant. How to Avoid Getting Sick While Pregnant The best way to avoid getting sick while you are pregnant is to take steps to make sure you are healthy. Here are some initial things you should try: Rest — As noted above, a rested bo dy helps your immune system work better. A healthy immune system can help shorten your sick period.

Stay Hydrated — Fluids are also essential to a healthy body. Fluids also help wash out your system. Take Your Vitamins — Vitamins and supplements contain nutrients that contribute towards a healthy body and a healthy immune system.

There are also some natural steps you can take to alleviate or minimize troublesome symptoms: Reduce Congestion — Place a humidifier in your room, keep your head elevated on your pillow while resting, or use nasal strips.