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Symptoms During Normal Pregnancy: A Prospective Controlled Study
Author(s) -
Martina Zib,
Ling Li Lim,
William A. W. Walters
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1999.tb03122.x
Subject(s) - pregnancy , medicine , prospective cohort study , obstetrics , urination , third trimester , childbirth , pediatrics , gestation , surgery , urinary system , genetics , biology
EDITORIAL COMMENT: This is an important study which attempts to evaluate the effect of pregnancy on numerous symptoms. The point of this comment is to direct readers to table 3 because it contains much information of interest and importance that has not been dealt with in the text because of space considerations. For example, there is confirmation of the wide‐held belief that epistaxis is much more common in pregnancy and the same can be said for fainting, flushing and shortness of breath. The increased incidence of nausea, heartburn and bleeding gums also fits with traditional teaching and beliefs, at least of the editor, but the finding that headache is less common in pregnant women was a surprise. There is confirmation that leg cramps and abdominal pain are common in pregnancy. The increased frequency of nail changes was news to the editor, although the urogenital symptoms preponderance in the pregnant group was expected. The huge increase in dyspnoea during at rest and exertion in the pregnancy group also warrants emphasis. N.B. Summary: Symptoms of normal pregnancy have received scant attention in the literature and what is reported is largely unsubstantiated. Yet this is an important aspect of antenatal counselling and care which deserves further investigation if symptoms are to be interpreted correctly. Accordingly, we conducted a prospective controlled study of symptoms during normal pregnancy in both primigravidas and multigravidas. A total of 38 symptoms occurred with a significantly different frequency (mainly increased) in the pregnant subjects in the third trimester compared with the controls. Of these a mean of 24.2 symptoms was experienced by each pregnant woman, double that (mean, 11.2) experienced by healthy nonpregnant controls. The 5 symptoms reported most frequently by the pregnant subjects were frequency of micturition, fatigue, pelvic pressure, insomnia and lower backache. However, a wide range of symptoms involving most body systems were reported. This study has established that symptoms of pregnancy are more numerous than mentioned in current obstetric texts and that they can be attributed to the effects of pregnancy. The third trimester is associated with the greatest number of symptoms and there is a marked decline in their number after delivery.