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Most women feel sick to the stomach and many throw up during the first three months of their pregnancies.

More than half feel better by the end of the 12th week.^{1 2} But you may feel sick for longer. More than 1 in 10 women still have nausea and vomiting after their 20th week of pregnancy.¹

You may have the following.

• Nausea: This is an unpleasant feeling in your throat or stomach. You feel as if you're about to throw up. About 80 percent of pregnant women experience nausea, and 60 percent have nausea daily.¹
• Vomiting: This is when the contents of your stomach are forced up toward your mouth. Four out of 10 women who have "morning sickness" vomit every day.¹
• Dry retching: This is when you gag as if you're going to throw up, but nothing comes out.

Your symptoms may be mild or severe. Most cases are mild. But if you have more severe symptoms, this can make you feel miserable. One study found that the nausea felt by pregnant women is similar to one of the worst kinds of nausea caused by the chemotherapy used to treat cancer.³

For more than a third of pregnant women, nausea and vomiting is bad enough to cause them to miss work.² More than a quarter of women can't do housework because of their sickness.² You may feel weak if you can't keep much food down. But feeling nauseated and throwing up rarely affects your health or the health of your baby.

About 1 in 200 women have very severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.⁴ This condition is called hyperemesis gravidarum.

If you have hyperemesis gravidarum, you throw up so much that your health and your baby's health may be in danger. You may:^{5 6}

• Have severe vomiting
• Become so dehydrated that your skin loses its spring and you use the bathroom less often
• Feel very sluggish
• Feel dizzy
• Get very tired because you don't sleep well.

You may also feel low and tearful, especially if you were looking forward to being pregnant.^{7 8}

If your doctor thinks that you are losing too much fluid, are dehydrated or could become dehydrated, you usually will be admitted to the hospital. To learn more, see What happens in the hospital?

Call your doctor or go to the emergency department if you have been vomiting for more than 24 hours or you have been vomiting enough to make you feel dizzy and you feel like you can't hold down any fluids.