Hyperemesis gravidarum and fetal gender: a retrospective study

J Obstet Gynaecol. 2012 Jul;32(5):475-8. doi: 10.3109/01443615.2012.666580.

Abstract

This retrospective study of 9,980 women who delivered at the James Paget Hospital, Norfolk, UK, over 5 years, aimed to primarily determine whether the incidence of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is higher in the presence of a female fetus. The results showed that more women with HG had a female fetus compared with women without HG. Also found was that heavy ketonuria was more prevalent in women with a female fetus compared with women with a male fetus, and the mean number of admissions per woman was also higher in women with a female fetus compared with women with a male fetus. It can be concluded that women presenting with HG are more likely to have a female fetus and that women with HG and a female fetus tend to a higher level of ketonuria and an increased number of hospital admissions.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Fetus*
  • Gestational Age
  • Humans
  • Hyperemesis Gravidarum / epidemiology*
  • Ketosis / epidemiology
  • Pregnancy
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Sex Factors*