That’s why you feel bad – and this is how you can fix it

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– Existing studies are very small, very few, and have low reliability. We’ve seen a trend that acupressure combined with standard care, i.e. anti-nausea medications, may be effective, that’s all, he says. Hanna OlfsdotterMidwife and teaching assistant at Department of Women and Children’s Health At the Karolinska Institutet, as well as an expert on Ukrainian Security Service investigations.

One reason for not having a better definitive result is that the international definition of severe nausea in pregnancy did not appear until 2021. Without a definition it is difficult to compare studies. Now it has been defined what severe nausea during pregnancy means: symptoms before week 16 of pregnancy, with nausea and vomiting, at least one of which is severe, inability to eat or drink normally and severe restriction in daily activities.

-The fact that there is a definition now makes it easier. Hanna Olfsdotter says the research will now be able to build on the bank of evidence and treatments that contrast with each other.

Because there’s no common definition, it’s also unclear how many are actually affected – but it’s thought that between 0.3 and 3 percent of all pregnant women feel this poorly. Severe nausea during pregnancy means huge costs to society. In 2021, 5,600 pregnant women were on sick leave due to vomiting, 3,300 of whom were on sick leave for at least 60 days. Many of them are also so dehydrated that they have to be treated in hospital with a drip.

– There is also a lot of suffering in this, there are studies that show women are terminating their pregnancies because they cannot afford it or to refrain from having more children – yet very little is known about why some are so affected, she says.

– Many indicate that there is a relationship with pregnancy hormones, most notably HCG, which is the hormone that is measured in pregnancy tests. A twin pregnancy, where HCG levels are higher, often causes more nausea, says Hanna Olfsdotter.

It’s also thought that psychosocial and genetic factors can play a role, she explains.