Research has revealed why we should all stop saying morning sickness.
A new study has suggested that we should not use the term morning sickness for prenancy nausea as it is “misleading and inaccurate”.
The research, published in the British Journal of General Practice, has said that the term is not accurate as nausea and sickness symptoms in pregnant women can occur throughout the day, as opposed to just feeling sick in the morning.
Study leaders from the University of Warwick have suggested that medical professionals use the term NVP or Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy instead of morning sickness, as it reflects the symptoms more accurately and encourages support for women so that symptoms are not ignored just because they don’t occur first thing.
During the study, experts analysed the symptoms of 256 women and found that, while vomiting is most common between 7am and 1pm, nausea and sickness generally continues throughout the day.
Over 94 per cent of study participants admitted to experiencing nausea or vomiting into the afternoon, while 58 per cent said they had experienced both symptoms later in the day.
“Morning sickness is widely used by the general public, media and even healthcare professionals but it doesn’t give an accurate description of the condition,” said Professor Roger Gadsby of Warwick Medical School.
“If a pregnant woman experiences sickness in the afternoon she may feel that this is unusual and wrong, or if she experiences no vomiting but feels nauseated all day she might think she is not covered by the term ‘morning sickness’. And those women who experience severe symptoms feel it trivialises the condition.”
MORE: Morning sickness cures and remedies for expectant mums
Professor Roger also warned that nausea and vomiting in pregnancy should not be dismissed as they can have a “significant negative impact on the lives of sufferers”.
“It can cause feelings of depression, of being unable to look after the family, and of loss of time from paid work,” he explained.
“Very severe NVP called hyperemesis gravidarm (HG) is the commonest cause of admission to hospital in the first trimester of pregnancy.”
Looks like it's time to make an important change...
