Aim Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy impact quality of life, yet many pregnant women feel dismissed by healthcare professionals, despite the safety of first‐line antiemetic treatments for both mother and fetus. Therefore, this study aims to describe the prevalence of patient‐reported antiemetic use in early pregnancy in Copenhagen, Denmark, the changes in use over two time periods, and the maternal characteristics of users and non‐users. Methods We analysed patient‐reported data on antiemetic use during early pregnancy and maternal characteristics from the Copenhagen Pregnancy Cohort (2012–2022). Descriptive statistics were applied to assess the prevalence, changes in use over two time periods and differences between users and non‐users. Results Among 40 856 pregnancies, 1.0% ( n = 412) reported using antiemetics in early pregnancy. Metoclopramide was the most used, reported by 0.2% ( n = 93). The number of pregnancies with patient‐reported antiemetic use doubled from 0.7% in 2012–2017 to 1.4% in 2018–2022. Among users, 83.3% received monotherapy, and 74.1% used antiemetics daily. Compared with non‐users, a significantly higher proportion of antiemetic users scored <50 on the World Health Organization Five Well‐Being Index (66.6% vs . 20.5%, p < .001) and to a higher extent reported sick leave (68.0% vs . 14.1%, p < .001). Conclusion We found a low but rising prevalence of antiemetic use in early pregnancy, and the treatment often deviated from clinical guidelines. Antiemetic users differed from non‐users on several maternal characteristics, with a higher proportion reporting somatic and psychiatric disorders, as well as poorer mental well‐being, despite antiemetic treatment.
Wraae et al. (Sun,) studied this question.