A new study suggests that morning sickness and vomiting are related to higher odds of pregnancy success. For women with a history of miscarriage, experiencing those symptoms could mean that the baby is fine.
The research is based on the past believe that links women’s sickness with biology narrowing the mom’s eating options to avoid certain diseases. Ernest Hook at New York’s Albany Medical College proposed the theory in 1976. The concept explains that provoking sickness and vomiting the body is protecting the fetus from bacteria, toxins and other things that can be ingested with certain foods.
The current study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and it is another step to prove that nausea and vomiting could indeed be a good sign for the baby.
As part of the research, doctors included 800 pregnant women with at least one or two prior miscarriages. The participants were around 29 years old on average at the start of the study, and their pregnancy was confirmed by lab tests.
To collect the data, the women involved had to record their nausea and vomiting symptoms daily from weeks 2 through 8 of their pregnancy. After week 12, participants registered their symptoms through monthly questionnaires.
After week 2, 18 percent of women had morning sickness without vomiting. Other 4 percent experienced both symptoms. When on week 8, the number of women experienced nausea alone rose, affecting 57 percent of participants, while 27 percent had nausea and could not help vomiting. When week 12 arrived, 86 percent of women reported nausea without vomiting, and another 35 percent had both symptoms.
The evidence showed that both morning sickness and vomiting are associated to lower risk of pregnancy loss, although scientist does not explain why women with these symptoms are more likely to have a healthy pregnancy. Not all 800 participants had their babies, and 24 percent had another miscarriage.
Nausea and vomiting seem to mean that the pregnancy has higher chances to be successful, but the symptoms might need to be control
The study showed that morning sickness and vomiting are associated with a 50 to a 70 percent lower risk of miscarriage. Lead study author Stefanie Hinkle said the findings should be reassuring to women experiencing these symptoms.
But the study had limitations that people need to consider. Scientists had to trust participants and their recording of their symptoms in their diaries. Also, the study did not take into account the severity of nausea and vomiting.
Dr. Siripanth Nippita, a reproductive health researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston, stated in an accompanying editorial that the symptoms discussed do not protect women from a miscarriage. Nippita added in an e-mail that those women experiencing severe nausea or vomiting could require treatment to avoid complications during pregnancy.
Dr. Nippita also explained that not having these symptoms does not mean that the woman will not end her pregnancy satisfactorily. Each pregnant woman has different bodies and different reactions to the baby, and because the study is not conclusive, women should not base their predictions on their baby’s health only on morning sickness and vomiting.
Source: Fox News