Newly pregnant and emetophobic - tips and reassurance please!

[rosemarycait96]

Hi all,

So I got my BFP two days ago and I'm about 5-6 weeks pregnant with my first child.

I'm over the moon, so excited and can't wait to be a mum. BUT the only problem is that I'm emetophobic (phobia of nausea and vomiting), with a very specific fear of throwing up in public/not getting to a bathroom in time.

I have only been sick a couple of times in the last 10 years, and that was because of the contraceptive pill, which I had to stop taking because it gave me severe nausea with some vomiting. The thought of going through that kind of hormonal sickness again is terrifying me. It was the first thing I thought of, once the excitement of the positive pregnancy test had died down.

I do feel some mild nausea most of the time at the moment. I had a bit of a breakdown last night, randomly sobbing on my husband because I was so scared that it will get worse and I'll be sick! I don't drive so I get buses - I took one today and spent the whole journey shoving mints into my mouth and willing the nausea to go away.

Anyone else here have emetophobia and had to go through morning sickness? Honestly, I have all the remedies I need - from peppermint tea to peppermint essential oil, acupressure wristbands and plain food - but does anyone have tips to help deal with the anxiety about being sick in the first place?

I don't want the fear of vomit to ruin what is otherwise such a happy and exciting time, so any reassurance or advice would be really appreciated.

I don't have a fear of vomiting but despite experiencing some nausea, I didn't throw up in either of my pregnancies so please don't think it's a certainty that you will!

You may not have issues with it. I have been pregnant 6 times and have 3 children and have never thrown up during any of my pregnancies. Hope the same for you!

My emetophobia is pretty mild but it's still debilitating enough that I was very worried during pregnancy too. If I'm honest, the first couple of weeks of nausea and vomiting were really, really tough - but then it was almost as if I got used to it, and it stopped bothering me? It became quite predictable - I knew when I would vomit/what would trigger it, and that helped, and I just got good at ignoring the nausea in a way I couldn't have before and couldn't do now. If you're really struggling though, do consider asking your GP - there are medications that you can take and they're perfectly safe in pregnancy. Congratulations!

OP I am emetophobic and pregnant with my second child, currently 25 weeks. I haven’t been sick in either of my pregnancies.

With my first I’m not going to lie, I did gag a few times but it happened quite regularly and I almost got used to it so it didn’t bother me as much. I would never physically vomit with it. With this second pregnancy I have felt ok! Some days I’ve had what I can only describe as a mild hangover. You won’t necessarily be sick or feel sick. If you do get nauseous regularly then I would still contact your GP and explain your phobia and they may prescribe you something to help.

Things I’ve found that helped me:

• Eat regularly, little and often! I am more likely to feel sick if I’m hungry.


• Anti sickness bands.


• Sucking on ice/ice pops.


• Having a cereal bar or biscuit with a few sips of water and soon as I wake so I don’t get the empty stomach hunger feeling.


• Mints


• Keeping little bags on me in case I think I might be sick. Never had to use them but it helped for peace of mind!

I do think that people with Emetophobia are less likely to be sick in pregnancy because we don’t “allow” our bodies to be sick as easily. It’s not the same as having a stomach bug or food poisoning for example.

Good luck!

Hi. I've had alot of nausea and a couple of instances where I would have been sick if not for the fear being enough to prevent myself. I sucked on mints, ice water, ice cubes, eat light foods, starchy foods. I used cyclizine at times and when it's really really bad - buccal. I try to use them sparingly though. In my first labour I mentioned it in my birth plan. The only medication I took was a strong antiemetic because I'm so severe with this phobia I'd rather experience the pain that the side effects of gas and air or pain relief.

Over the worst of the morning sickness now thankfully. I know the struggle! I do need to get cbt for this though.

I am very emetophobic and just gave birth to DD2.

I was very nauseated but never actually sick during my pregnancies. I did go to the GP and get some anti sickness medication - you could try this, even if you don't take it, you might feel less anxious knowing you have it on you?

Mints, ice cubes or ice lollies, Granny Smith apples, salt & vinegar crisps were all things that helped my nausea but generally just eating little and often is good.

I also made sure my midwife was aware when I gave birth and I was given anti sickness injections as a precaution before I even felt sick. I made it clear how much I would panic if I was sick and they were great. But I did turn down all pain relief for fear it would cause nausea - I think this really made it clear to them just how severe the phobia was.

I have bad emetophobia and was sooo worried at first. Even considered not continuing with a very wanted pregnancy just due to the fear. I haven't been sick, have felt nauseous a lot. Nausea is when I'm hungry mostly (which seems to be constantly lol). I'm glad I didn't let the fear make me end it as I would have personally regretted it. I'm now 15 weeks and still have nausea but it's manageable and worth it. Eat little and often, mints, drinks to sip. You'll do amazing 😊

This might not be the case for you, but being pregnant with DC1 a couple of years ago really eased my emetophobia. I was never actually sick with pregnancy nausea, but I was sick a few times in labour, and because it was overshadowed by everything else that was happening, it sort of dissolved my phobia.

I'm in the grip of nausea with DC2 at the moment but again no being sick, so you might not even be sick - lots of women don't.

Thank you for your lovely reply! Massive congratulations and well done for making it to 15 weeks and tackling the fear :) The nausea for me hasn't gotten any more intense than it was last week, it's mainly when I wake up in the morning, and after dinner. Definitely finding that eating every couple of hours, peppermint tea and bonbons are doing the trick so far, but then I haven't experienced real waves of nausea yet. Here's hoping I join lots of you ladies who haven't been physically sick, but I really don't want it to get the better of me if I am in the end.

Thanks for the pointers! I did get in touch with my GP once I found I was pregnant but they said they don't do that first contact anymore, and directed me straight to maternity/midwifery services who won't contact me for another 10 working days for my booking in appointment - I'm hoping to ask them for advice then.

Salty food is all I want to eat now anyway, so no issues there. Rosemary and sea salt crackers are life saving.

Good call on the labour part too, I want to make them aware. I was planning on trying not to have pain relief due to the nausea factor, but that's obviously months away. Who knows what my birth plan will actually be!

Thanks for your reply :) I definitely feel like I might have been sick by now if it wasn't for my frantic efforts to avoid it. Well done for coping with it and tackling the fear. I never knew you could put it in your birth plan either, I'll definitely be doing that when the time comes.

thank you! I definitely think that's the case. There have been a few times over the years where I definitely would have been sick if I wasn't so determined to avoid it. So far, the nausea has been there, mainly in the evening and when I first wake up, but I haven't been close to being sick yet, so we'll wait and see.

Thanks for the tips and good luck for the rest of your pregnancy!

I did get in touch with my GP once I found I was pregnant but they said they don't do that first contact anymore, and directed me straight to maternity/midwifery services

GPs don't do a general appointment for pregnancy, but they will/should prescribe an anti sickness if you did need it. The midwife won't be able to do that but should be able to advise you.

Just popping on to say, I am emetophobic and didn't throw up once during my pregnancy with my DS, many years ago now. I felt quite green a few times, but nothing approaching properly being sick. I found these incredibly sour hard sweets called Preggie Pops an absolute lifesaver. I used to have them while being driven in the car which was when I felt most sick, and it helped so much. I also only had nausea in the first trimester, and not in a debilitating way.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and wishing you a smooth and easy time, with hardly any nausea.

@ZeppelinTits ah thanks so much, that's reassuring. I'm hoping that it won't peak too much in the next couple of weeks - this mild nausea I feel now I can just about handle with peppermint bonbons and other remedies. (I say that, but when I posted this a couple of days ago I'd just been crying for 2 hours because a pizza made me feel queasy...lol). Totally feel you on the pregnancy travel sickness though, my bus journey the other day was nail-biting 😂 Hearing the stories of other ladies who haven't been sick has put my mind at rest a bit - I always thought that if you got nausea, then being sick was inevitable.

@3amAndImStillAwake Yes, I had no idea since the NHS site told me to contact my GP and the GP directed me to maternity, I got a bit bamboozled. 😂 If it does get dicey, I'm hoping the GP can help.

I have my first midwife appointment in July! So I'm going to mention the phobia there too.

Iv never had any sickness with either of my pregnancies. Don't worry about it unless it happens.

I really do think when it comes to emetophobia, for so many people who suffer from this it's a case of mind over matter. The desire not to be sick is so strong that you can actually will yourself not to, in certain circumstances. Obviously with exceptions. I haven't thrown up since I was 15. Don't assume the nausea will get any worse, it may have plateaued unless anything external triggers it. Fingers crossed!

I’m slightly emetophobic but was way worse before pregnancy. I was sick a lot, but always before work (bus in as well so had similar worries).

Granny Smith apples straight out of the fridge helped. And visualising putting fucking-ginger-fucking-unhelpful-fucking-biscuits vigorously up the bums of all the well meaning people who tried to give me ginger biscuits while I was trying not to puke (this may just be me)

@Verbena87 Oh you did make me laugh there! That must have been so frustrating. Glad you were able to face the fear, with the help of those apples.

@ZeppelinTits Oh absolutely, there have been many times over the years where I could have been sick but forced the feeling away. The covid vaccines were awful for nausea but I bloody stood my ground. Like you, I haven't been sick in a very long time. Thank you :)

Hiya!! Pregnant mum with debilitating Emetophobia here too!

I am currently 18 weeks and have yet to throw up!

My advice is keep a stash of anti nausea stuff with you at all times!

1. Wear anti sickness bands all the time
2. Keep some mints and ginger sweets on you.
3. Keep some ginger biccies on you and nibble constantly so you don't get hungry and that can not help.
4. Stay hydrated but sipping.
5. Lemon and ginger tea all day everyday

1. The most important one! Go to your doctor, explain your phobia, I did and they gave me some anti sickness tablets (even though I didn't feel sick) and I just kept them in my bag. It helped me mentally knowing that I had some tablets in my bag all the time that I could just take if I started to feel queasy!

Also, rest loads.

Good luck ❤️❤️❤️

@verbina87 that really made me laugh. I ate ginger biccies like they were going out of fashion at the start of my pregnancy as so many people told me to eat them!

Congrats!
I'm also emetophobic and didn't vomit from morning sickness once during any of my pregnancies.

Hi, I could've written your post!! I'm on sugar free polos for my bus/car journeys! I have anti nausea bon bons and lots of snacks with me whenever I go so I can eat every couple of hours. Ginger ale is helping me too. I did order the wristbands but sadly they didn't arrive so I have a refund and hoping to buy them in store somewhere tomorrow.
I'm 6w+6 now and I was only sick at 5w but it turned out to be a stomach bug, I was crying thinking I had hyperemesis and that was my life now, but then my partner started to be ill and others I'd been with a few days earlier. I am hoping the nausea stays manageable as it is now and I will also add in my birth plan re meds that may cause sickness.
Thinking of you all!

I don’t have emetophobia but this is my experience of “ morning sickness “ in pregnancy.

Women seem to have one type or the other

the kind where you feel nauseous for some or all of the day but are never actually sick

the kind where you feel very sick ( often in the morning ), then vomit and then feel fine, completely normal, for the rest of the day.

So if you have the first type, like most of the other women on this thread, then you are very unlikely to ever actually be sick.

Im not talking about HG, which of course is something completely different from normal “morning sickness “.

Amd I’m not any kind of HCP, just a mum of 3 . I’m just saying what I’ve noticed from my friends and family and on MN.

So @rosemarycait96 you can go on doing all the things you are doing if ig relieves your symptoms. But you can stop worrying that otherwise you will be sick. You probably won’t .

Most women find it gets much better after about 14 weeks .

What worked well for me was keeping dry crackers by my bed, waking up an hour early, eating in bed and staying still for an hour.
I don't know why it worked for me but I was glad it did!
I found that I always felt more nauseous when my stomach was empty.