It is an unpleasant but very common disease in pregnant women: it is estimated that 85% of them will experience nausea and vomiting during their pregnancy. The peak is reached at the 9th week, but fortunately rarely exceeds the 14th week. How to reduce the symptoms? Doctor Jimmy Mohamed recalls that the causes of this nausea are rather poorly understood because they are multifactorial, but he gives some clues to the microphone of Europe 1.
It is believed that nausea is a combination of metabolic, environmental, ethnic or psychological mechanisms, without one being able to identify one formally. We do know, however, that they are linked to a hormonal change at the start of pregnancy. Good news, says Jimmy Mohamed, studies show that the more nausea you have, the less chance you have of miscarriage.
How to alleviate the symptoms?
But how do you limit the unpleasant effects? Medicine does not have an answer to everything. "It is complicated because we are not even sure that it is really nausea. Some people think that it would be the equivalent of hunger because the stomach would be empty, hence the idea to split the meal and always having something to snack on, "explains Jimmy Mohamed.
Some women will eat cereals, others banana pieces, to try to fill this gap. Ginger is also part of the WHO recommendations, at the rate of 250 mg of dried rhizome per day, which helps to limit nausea. You also need to stay hydrated, favor low-fat foods, avoid cooking odors ... Anti-vomiting treatments are often not very effective.
If these methods around food are not enough, Doctor Mohamed tells us that there is still a treatment, generally given in the context of certain chemotherapies, Zophren. "This treatment has authorization for nausea and vomiting of pregnant women: it is little known, little prescribed but we know that it is quite effective, Canadians use it a lot. As a last resort, if all the small measures do not have not been enough, you can discuss this with your gynecologist who may prescribe this treatment. "
Is that bad ?
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy are rarely serious. But they are still all too often underestimated by health professionals, the entourage or the patient herself: "You are pregnant, do with it". Prone women can also tell themselves that if they take treatment, it could be harmful to the fetus, and therefore do not take medication, trying to protect themselves.
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However, reminds the doctor, "if we allow nausea and vomiting to settle, they can lead to what is called pregnancy hyperemesis". It is the most severe form of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, affecting approximately 2% of women. "It is a clinical diagnosis, with a weight loss of 5%, dehydration and a balance sheet which would be disturbed, which systematically leads to hospitalization". It is therefore better to avoid letting these nausea drag.