Abstract
BackgroundSome studies have indicated that female birth and multiple births were risk factors for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP). The results, however, were conflicting. Our study was conducted to evaluate the association of maternal NVP with fetal sex in singleton and twin pregnancies.MethodsWe used the data set from a birth cohort study, the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS). In the self-administered questionnaire, participants were asked whether they experienced NVP prior to 12 gestational weeks. Main outcome measures were the presence of NVP and severity of NVP. We estimated the association of fetal sex and birth plurality with NVP using logistic regression analysis, followed by interaction analysis.ResultsOf 91,666 women, 75,828 (82.7%) experienced at least some symptoms of NVP and 10,159 (11.1%) experienced severe NVP. Women with female pregnancies and twin pregnancies had higher odds for the presence of NVP and severe NVP compared to women with male pregnancies and singleton pregnancies, respectively. Moreover, of mothers with twin pregnancies, higher odds for the presence of NVP and severe NVP were reported when one or both infants were female, compared to those in which both infants were male. There was no significant interaction between fetal sex and birth plurality.ConclusionsFemale sex birth and multiple births are risk factors for the presence of NVP, and especially for severe NVP without interaction. These findings suggest that a factor abundant in the female fetus associates with the severity of NVP.
Highlights
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) is one of the most common clinical conditions women experience in the first trimester of pregnancy
With regard to fetal sex, many studies have reported an association between hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) and fetal sex, and almost all of these studies confirmed female sex birth as a risk factor for HG.[9,10,11,12]
In this study, we evaluated nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) in twin and singleton pregnancies in relation to fetal sex using data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS)
Summary
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) is one of the most common clinical conditions women experience in the first trimester of pregnancy. Maternal genetic factors appear to serve as primary risk factors for NVP or HG.[4,5] NVP is considered to be more common in younger women, women with less than 12 years of education, non-smokers, obese women, and women with multiple gestation.[6,7,8] With regard to fetal sex, many studies have reported an association between HG and fetal sex, and almost all of these studies confirmed female sex birth as a risk factor for HG.[9,10,11,12] A few studies examined the joint effect of twinning and fetal sex on HG and showed that the presence of at least one female in the twin pair was associated with HG.[10,13,14] On the other hand, a few studies reported an association between NVP and fetal sex Some of these studies found that female sex birth was a risk factor for NVP.[6,13] the results were conflicting and there is no study evaluating the association of NVP with both fetal sex and birth plurality.[14]. Our study was conducted to evaluate the association of maternal NVP with fetal sex in singleton and twin pregnancies
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