Morning sickness 'not just physical'

Pregnant women often complain of nausea

Morning sickness may be as much a psychological condition as a physical one, scientists have claimed.

They say doctors who treat pregnant women who are vomiting or feeling nauseous should consider that they may also be feeling depressed or isolated.

But pregnancy experts say morning sickness is a very real physical problem for many women during pregnancy.

Up to 80% of pregnant women report morning sickness symptoms ranging from mild nausea to frequent vomiting. In the most severe cases, women suffer from hyper-emesis, where they can cause weight loss and dehydration and can require hospital treatment.

Perception

The Canadian researchers studied 500 women who were around nine weeks pregnant, who had reported morning sickness to a telephone helpline.

The idea that morning sickness is a psychological problem is in the minds of the researchers, rather than in the minds of women Belinda Phipps, National Childbirth Trust

They were asked to rate the severity of their nausea and vomiting and how frequently they vomited or retched.

Around 45% classed their symptoms as severe, 49% moderate and only 6% as mild.

The majority of women reported feeling nauseous "always" and vomiting or retching two to five times a day.

But the researchers from the University of Toronto concluded women's actual symptoms and how they perceived them were very different.

They estimated that only around 14% of women's illness can be attributed to their physical symptoms.

Dr Kiran Chandra and Dr Laura Magee, who carried out the research, said: "Women will tend to perceive symptom severity according to how they are feeling overall and how other aspects of their life are affected.

"This has potentially serious implications in terms of management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy."

They said other factors, such as the support women receive from their family, how understanding their doctors are and their diet influence how they feel.

"Women who eat frequent, small meals reported feeling much better than women who did not.

"An empty stomach tends to aggravate symptoms."

However, the researchers accept that over half of pregnant women are affected by morning sickness in the early stages of their pregnancy.

'Surprise'

Belinda Phipps of the National Childbirth Trust questioned the study's findings.

She told BBC News Online: "To the women who have it, morning sickness is very real. I am surprised that the research team thinks so much of morning sickness is in the mind."

She added: "Some women can end up in hospital. But you only have to feel a little bit sick to have your day ruined.

"Quite often women find the smell of food, usually fried food, makes them feel sick."

She said the research findings were not helpful to women.

"It undermines a woman's confidence in listening to what her body's telling her is right. What's really important is for a woman to listen to her body and do what it says.

"The idea that morning sickness is a psychological problem is in the minds of the researchers, rather than in the minds of women."