We report the correlation between total hours of nausea in early pregnancy, as a continuous variable, and various factors in women’s obstetric and personal histories. Positive correlations for increased nausea were found with heavier placentae (p = 0.005), non-smoking status (p = 0.004), women with nausea in previous pregnancies (p = 0.005), and women whose mothers experienced trouble with nausea in their pregnancies (p = 0.001). 17 other factors did not relate to pregnancy nausea at the p < 0.01 level.

This study investigated the aetiology of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) in primary care using a new methodology. Eighteen women in early pregnancy had 2 blood samples taken in one 24-hour time period, one when they were symptomatic, and another when they were symptom-free. Maternal serum levels of the candidate agents PGE2, IL-1β, and TNFα were measured. The study shows a positive relationship between NVP and maternal serum PGE2 levels in early pregnancy.