PROBLEM: The aetiology of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is still not well understood. BACKGROUND: Previous research suggests that its incidence and severity are influenced by many different factors, including demographic, lifestyle and psychosocial factors. AIM: This study aimed to test the effect of multiple factors (use of combined oral contraception (COC) on meeting the father, sex of the foetus, age when pregnant, parity, education, life standard/income, smoking before pregnancy and BMI) on levels of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. METHODS: We collected data from two independent samples of women attending the same pregnancy clinic in the Czech Republic (Study 1, N = 448; Study 2, N = 508) and tested the effect of multiple factors using two different methodological designs: retrospective self-report (Study 1) and self-reports on their current state (Study 2). FINDINGS: In Study 1, we found that lower levels of nausea and vomiting were reported by women who used COC when they met their partner, as well as in those who smoked before pregnancy. In Study 2, we found that younger women and women who reported higher household income had relatively severe NVP symptoms. DISCUSSION: We discuss the pros and cons of the two methodological approaches, as we found different predictors in two otherwise comparable samples. CONCLUSION: We suggest that future studies use longitudinal designs and combinations of both current and retrospective measures of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.

• Klíčová slova
• Age, NVP, Oral contraception, Predictors of NVP, Pregnancy sickness, Rhodes index, Smoking,
• MeSH
• ambulantní zařízení organizace a řízení   statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• komplikace těhotenství * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nauzea * etiologie   epidemiologie   MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• rizikové faktory MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• zpráva o sobě MeSH
• zvracení * etiologie   epidemiologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH

Elevated levels of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) and disgust sensitivity have been observed in the first trimester and both are thought to have a protective function for the mother and her fetus. Their aetiology is not clear, however, with previous studies attributing elevated NVP and disgust to various factors including endocrine changes, immunological changes, and psychological variables. To date, no study has directly assessed the relationship between disgust and NVP. Here, we prospectively collected two independent samples (S1 and S2; n1 = 201, n2 = 391) of women in the first trimester of pregnancy, who completed the Index of Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching and the Disgust Scale-Revised. We also measured free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) in maternal serum. Our results did not confirm any association between NVP and disgust; in addition, they indicate that NVP and disgust may have different proximate causes. Disgust sensitivity was significantly negatively correlated with free β-hCG and (only in S1) with PAPP-A. In contrast, NVP was significantly positively associated with free β-hCG levels and (only in S1) with PAPP-A. While low hCG levels seem to be an important indicator for activation of the behavioral immune system in the first trimester, increased hCG levels play a role in stronger symptoms of NVP, a result consistent with previous studies. Levels of PAPP-A are likely part of a larger network of immunological and endocrine responses and do not appear to provide sufficient information for predicting women's NVP and disgust sensitivity.

• Klíčová slova
• Anxiety, Compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis, Disgust, Free β-hCG, NVP, PAPP-A, Parity, Rhodes index,
• MeSH
• biologické markery MeSH
• komplikace těhotenství * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lidský choriogonadotropin, beta podjednotka MeSH
• nauzea etiologie   MeSH
• odpor * MeSH
• první trimestr těhotenství MeSH
• těhotenský plazmatický protein A metabolismus   MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• zvracení etiologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• biologické markery MeSH
• lidský choriogonadotropin, beta podjednotka MeSH
• PAPPA protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• těhotenský plazmatický protein A MeSH

BACKGROUND: A recent study focusing on dietary predictors of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) found that women with higher levels of partner support, and those who had used oral contraception (OC) when they met the father, both tended to report less severe NVP compared with previous non-users or those with less supportive partners. We provide a further test of these factors, using a large sample of women from four countries who retrospectively scored their NVP experience during their first pregnancy. METHODS: We recruited women who had at least one child to participate in a retrospective online survey. In total 2321 women completed our questionnaire including items on demographics, hormonal contraception, NVP, and partner support. We used general linear models and path analysis to analyse our data. RESULTS: Women who had used OC when they met the father of their first child tended to report lower levels of NVP, but the effect size was small and did not survive adding the participant's country to the model. There was no relationship between NVP and partner support in couples who were still together, but there was a significant effect among those couples that had since separated: women whose ex-partner had been relatively supportive reported less severe NVP. Additional analyses showed that women who were older during their first pregnancy reported less severe NVP, and there were also robust differences between countries. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide further evidence for multiple influences on women's experience of NVP symptoms, including levels of perceived partner support.

• Klíčová slova
• Morning sickness, NVP, Oral contraceptive, Partner support, Pregnancy sickness,
• MeSH
• antikoncepce metody   psychologie   MeSH
• antikoncepční chování psychologie   MeSH
• charakteristiky rodiny MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• internet MeSH
• komplikace těhotenství * etiologie   prevence a kontrola   psychologie   MeSH
• kontraceptiva orální * aplikace a dávkování   terapeutické užití   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nauzea * etiologie   prevence a kontrola   psychologie   MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• sexuální partneři * psychologie   MeSH
• sociální opora * psychologie   MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• zdravotnické přehledy MeSH
• zvracení * etiologie   prevence a kontrola   psychologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• multicentrická studie MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• kontraceptiva orální * MeSH