NVP Counselor
Date: 2004-10-08

Question:
I really don't know what to do. I am 25 years old and would like to have another child, but I was so sick during my first pregnancy that I'm afraid to get pregnant again. My symptoms got so bad that my doctor had me hospitalized for a while because I got dehydrated from the constant vomiting. I want another child but I don't know if I could face that again. Please help me.

Answer:
Motherisk researchers have shown that treating nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) before the appearance of symptoms can prevent severe NVP and hyperemesis gravidarum. This research is recently reported in the Journal of Obstetric Gynaecology 2004.

The Motherisk study looked at 25 women who had severe NVP or hyperemesis in a previous pregnancy, and counseled them to take Diclectin while planning their next pregnancy (before conception) or very early in the pregnancy before the appearance of NVP symptoms.

The women in the study group were compared to a group of randomly selected women who also had severe NVP, but who did not call the Motherisk NVP Helpline for counseling before they conceived, and therefore could not be offered pre-emptive therapy.

The majority of the women in the study group experienced far less severe NVP symptoms during the index pregnancy, compared to their previous pregnancy. Symptoms among women in the comparison group remained severe in 80% of the cases.

This study confirms that severe NVP can be prevented with pre-emptive treatment.