Korean J Community Nutr.  2003 Apr;8(2):138-148.

Common Functional Problems during Pregnancy and Association with Nutritional Status and Weight of Newborns

• Choi BS
• Lee IS
• Shin JJ
• Park MH
• Joung HJ

Abstract

Morning sickness during pregnancy is a very common functional problem with different kinds of symptom, but little data are available concerning the nutrition intervention program for pregnant women in local area. A total of 152 pregnant women who had experienced morning sickness were surveyed to investigate the relationships between morning sickness, nutrient intakes and pregnancy outcome. The results showed that prevalent symptoms were nausea (68.4%), heartburn (59.2%), morning sickness (48.7%), vomiting (42.1%), and constipation (44.7%). The onset of the symptom occurred during the first 3 months (9.3 +/- 2.3 weeks); 21.1% of the subjects was experienced two symptom at the same time. This significantly correlated with vomiting (p < 0.01), nausea (p < 0.001), morning sickness (p < 0.001), and heartburn (p < 0.01) with pregnancy weight. There were also correlations between the four symptoms and nutrient intakes. Mean birth weight of 21 newborns was 3.06 +/- 0.42 kg, and the one and five minutes of Apgar scores were 7.74 +/- 0.99 and 8.84 +/- 0.69, respectively. There were negative correlations between vomiting and pregnancy outcomes (p < 0.05). Our data support that morning sickness, especially vomiting during pregnancy is associated with Apgar score and body weight of newborn.

Keyword

vomiting; nausea; heartburn; morning sickness; constipation; pregnancy outcome

MeSH Terms

Apgar Score
Birth Weight
Body Weight
Constipation
Female
Heartburn
Humans
Infant, Newborn*
Morning Sickness
Nausea
Nutritional Status*
Pregnancy Outcome
Pregnancy*
Pregnant Women
Vomiting