New York Times Syndicate
SHAYNA
KRAVETZ June 28, 1999 OTTAWA, CANADA
The
intensity of nausea during pregnancy is the worst people can experience,
and is comparable to that caused by chemotherapy. For most women
who are pregnant, nausea and vomiting also last beyond the first
trimester, according to research presented here June 28 at the
annual meeting of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
of Canada. ``Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy have traditionally
been expected to conclude before the second trimester,'' said
presenting co-author Dr. Erica Eason, an obstetrician and epidemiologist
who is a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology
at the University of Ottawa. ``Women are sometimes depressed when
their nausea continues beyond this supposed endpoint.
''
The authors conducted the study with women in their eighth week
who were attending a university-hospital's obstetrics clinic in
Montreal. Only data from women who had live births were included.
One hundred and sixty women were asked about the frequency, duration
and severity of nausea and vomiting throughout their pregnancies.
More than 90 percent of the women completed the study. Eighty
percent of women reported nausea lasting all day, while only 1.8
percent suffered 'morning sickness.' Seventy-four percent of the
women reported some nausea, averaging 34.6 days.
Just
over one-third of the women (37.5 percent) experienced vomiting,
which continued for an average of 5.6 days. Women reported that
the peak period for both nausea and vomiting was the 11th week
of pregnancy. For half the women, the nausea stopped by the 14th
week of their pregnancy. For a further 40 percent, it had stopped
by the 22nd week.
The
McGill Nausea Questionnaire was used to assess the character and
intensity of the women's nausea and to compare it to other forms
of nausea. This questionnaire was originally created by co-investigator
Dr. Ronald Melzack, of McGill University, to assess the nausea
resulting from chemotherapy. The investigators were surprised
to find that the intensity of nausea during pregnancy was as severe
as that resulting from moderate chemotherapy.
``
The words women used to describe their nausea indicated a deeper
intensity than that experienced by patients receiving a moderate
chemotherapy regimen such as 5-fluorouracil,'' said Eason. The
study was funded by the post-doctoral fellowship of the lead researcher,
Renee Lacroix, of the department of psychology at McGill University.
Dr. Grace Liu, a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the
University of Toronto, said these results reflected her own clinical
experience.
``We
often see women well past their first trimester who still need
drugs against nausea,'' she said. However, Dr. Liu noted that
the use of subjective impressions to assess the severity and intensity
of nausea may have overemphasized the amount of nausea experienced
by pregnant women. ``Patients on chemotherapy are sick in so many
other ways [that nausea becomes less important to them], while
pregnant women are fundamentally healthy.'' c.1999 Medical Tribune
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