Learn about Pregnancy, nausea symptoms from Consumer Reports Health.

Pregnancy, nausea

What are the symptoms of normal and severe nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy?

Most women feel sick to their stomach and many vomit during the first three months of their pregnancies.

More than half feel better by the end of the 12th week.

Source:
Whitehead SA, Andrews PLR, Chamberlain GVP.
Characterisation of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a survey of 1000 women.
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1992; 12: 364-369.

Source:
Gadsby R, Barnie-Adshead AM, Jagger C.
A prospective study of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
British Journal of General Practice. 1993; 43: 245-248.

² But you may feel sick for longer. More than 1 in 10 women still have nausea and vomiting after their 20th week of pregnancy.

Source:
Whitehead SA, Andrews PLR, Chamberlain GVP.
Characterisation of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a survey of 1000 women.
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1992; 12: 364-369.

You may have the following.

Nausea: This is an unpleasant feeling in your throat or stomach. You feel as if you're about to vomit. About 8 in 10 pregnant women experience nausea, and 6 in 10 have nausea daily early in their pregnancy.

Source:
Whitehead SA, Andrews PLR, Chamberlain GVP.
Characterisation of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a survey of 1000 women.
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1992; 12: 364-369.

¹
Vomiting: This is when the contents of your stomach are forced up toward your mouth. About 4 out of 10 women who have morning sickness vomit every day.

Source:
Whitehead SA, Andrews PLR, Chamberlain GVP.
Characterisation of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a survey of 1000 women.
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1992; 12: 364-369.

¹
Dry retching: This is when you gag as if you're going to vomit, but nothing comes out.

Your symptoms may be mild or severe. Most cases are mild. But if you have more severe symptoms, this can make you feel miserable. One study found that the nausea felt by pregnant women is similar to one of the worst kinds of nausea caused by the

chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of chemicals or drugs to treat or prevent disease, usually cancer.

chemotherapy used to treat cancer.

Source:
Lacroix R, Eason E, Melzack R.
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: a prospective study of its frequency, intensity, and patterns of change.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2000; 182: 931-937.

For more than a third of pregnant women, nausea and vomiting is bad enough to cause them to miss work.

Source:
Gadsby R, Barnie-Adshead AM, Jagger C.
A prospective study of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
British Journal of General Practice. 1993; 43: 245-248.

² More than a quarter of women can't do as much housework as usual because of their sickness.

Source:
Gadsby R, Barnie-Adshead AM, Jagger C.
A prospective study of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
British Journal of General Practice. 1993; 43: 245-248.

² You may feel weak if you can't keep much food down. But feeling nauseated and vomiting isn't likely to affect your health or the health of your baby.

When symptoms are severe

About 1 in 200 women have very severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Source:
Eliakim R, Abulafia O, Sherer DM.
Hyperemesis gravidarum: a current review.
American Journal of Perinatology. 2000; 17: 207-218.

⁴ This condition is called hyperemesis gravidarum.

If you have

hyperemesis gravidarum
Hyperemesis gravidarum is very severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. About 1 in 100 pregnant women get this condition. If you have hyperemesis gravidarum, you throw up so much that your health and your baby's health may be in danger if you don't have treatment. Women with this condition may have to go into hospital.

hyperemesis gravidarum, you vomit so much that your health and your baby's health may be in danger. You may:

Source:
Lub-Moss MM, Eurelings-Bontekoe EH.
Clinical experience with patients suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy): thoughts about subtyping of patients, treatment and counseling models.
Patient Education and Counseling. 1997; 31: 65-75.

⁵

Source:
Kuscu NK, Koyuncu F.
Hyperemesis gravidarum: current concepts and management.
Postgraduate Medical Journal. 2002; 78: 76-79.

⁶

Have severe vomiting
Become so

dehydrated
When you're dehydrated, you don't have enough fluid in your blood. This could be because you're not drinking enough or because you're losing water by sweating or having diarrhea.

dehydrated that your skin loses its spring and you use the bathroom less often
Feel very sluggish
Feel dizzy
Get very tired because you don't sleep well.

You may also feel low and tearful, especially if you were looking forward to being pregnant.

Source:
Deuchar N.
Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: a review of the problem with particular regard to psychological and social aspects.
British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1995; 102: 6-8.

⁷

Source:
O'Brien B, Evans M, White-McDonald E.
Isolation from "being alive": coping with severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.
Nursing Research. 2002; 51: 302-308.

⁸

If your doctor thinks that you are losing too much fluid, are dehydrated, or could become dehydrated, you probably will be admitted to the hospital. To learn more, see What happens in the hospital?

Call your doctor or go to the emergency room if you have been vomiting for more than 24 hours or you have been vomiting enough to make you feel dizzy and you feel like you can't hold down any fluids.

Sources for the information on this page:

Whitehead SA, Andrews PLR, Chamberlain GVP.Characterisation of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a survey of 1000 women.Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1992; 12: 364-369.

Gadsby R, Barnie-Adshead AM, Jagger C.A prospective study of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.British Journal of General Practice. 1993; 43: 245-248.

Lacroix R, Eason E, Melzack R.Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: a prospective study of its frequency, intensity, and patterns of change.American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2000; 182: 931-937.

Eliakim R, Abulafia O, Sherer DM.Hyperemesis gravidarum: a current review.American Journal of Perinatology. 2000; 17: 207-218.

Lub-Moss MM, Eurelings-Bontekoe EH.Clinical experience with patients suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy): thoughts about subtyping of patients, treatment and counseling models.Patient Education and Counseling. 1997; 31: 65-75.

Kuscu NK, Koyuncu F.Hyperemesis gravidarum: current concepts and management.Postgraduate Medical Journal. 2002; 78: 76-79.

Deuchar N.Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: a review of the problem with particular regard to psychological and social aspects.British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1995; 102: 6-8.

O'Brien B, Evans M, White-McDonald E.Isolation from "being alive": coping with severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.Nursing Research. 2002; 51: 302-308.

This information was last updated on Oct 16, 2009

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