Nausea of Pregnancy

Abstract

Nausea of pregnancy is a near-universal adjunct of pregnancy. A re- view of the literature shows that the physiologic causes of nausea of pregnancy continue to be either unknown or poorly understood. As a result, physicians and others have assumed that psychogenic factors are the underlying cause of this disorder. Unfortunately, this approach is predicated on a stereotyped view of women as dependent, childlike, neurotic, and "unfeminine." Organic causes of nausea of pregnancy have been poorly investigated. Reliance on a psychogenic approach has aggravated an already unjust view of women and caused inadequate treatment of the disorder.