Morning Sickness

Given the stress of going through infertility treatment in hopes of having a baby how trying it is for many to have their long sought after pregnancy be complicated with morning sickness. The fact is that up to 80% of women experience nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy with about 25% of these continuing to experience morning sickness into their second and third trimesters. Rarely nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is so bad that it can affect the health and well being of both the mother and her unborn baby. Many remedies have been promoted to treat this baneful condition but the only FDA approved medication is the delayed-release combination of the antihistamine doxylamine and vitamin B6 in the United States marketed as Diclegis and in Canada, Diclectin.

Morning sickness may be a reassuring sign since numerous studies have documented that nausea and vomiting is associated with reduced rates of congenital malformations, prematurity, and miscarriage. The thought is that the protective effect of morning sickness is related to a more favorable hormone milieu during pregnancy. This effect is not due to any one hormone. Some think that this protective effect may be related to an as yet unknown hormone or combination of as yet unidentified factors in the placenta since symptoms resolve within minutes of delivery of the placenta. So pregnant women can be assured that morning sickness is not necessarily a bad sign. Intractable nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, however, may be a sign of a more ominous medical condition and women experiencing such symptoms should seek assistance immediately.