Effects of pregnancy sickness on infant birth-weight and maternal weight-gain among Ghanaian women

This study sought to assess the relationship between nausea and vomiting du ring pregnancy and infant birth-weight and maternal weight-gain. A cohort o f 502 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Accra participated in t he study. A sub-sample of 128 pregnant women participated in a longitudinal study that involved assessment of maternal weight-gain during pregnancy. T he heights and weights of those in this subsample were measured in the firs t trimester followed by monthly measurements of their weights when they vis ited the antenatal clinics for care. During this time, information on nause a and vomiting were obtained by interview. The observed prevalence of nause a (loss of appetite with salivation and vomiting) among the pregnant women was 73.31%. Pregnant women who lost appetite with vomiting generally had in fants of mean birth-weight significantly lower (p <0.05) than those who did not (2.87kg +/-0.39 vs 3.21kg +/-0.57, respectively). The mean pregnancy w eight-gain of the mothers also followed a similar trend (10.16 kg +/- 1.71 vs 11.05 kg +/- 1.49). Subjects who vomited for more than three months had significantly lower pregnancy weight-gain and infant birth-weight (p<0.05) than those who never vomited or vomited for a lesser extent. There was a si gnificant negative association between birth-weight and nausea r = -0.090 ( p <less than> 0.040, n = 502) and between birth-weight and months of vomiti ng, r = -0.073 (p < 0.030, n = 502). These findings show that nausea and vo miting during pregnancy are associated with a decrease in infant birth-weig ht and maternal weight-gain. These observations underscore the need for spe cial care for pregnant women who experience nausea and vomiting.