During early pregnancy, up to nine out of 10 women will feel sick or be sick at some point.

Morning sickness is the most common symptom of pregnancy. How bad the sickness is varies from woman to woman. About one woman in three feels sick but doesn’t actually vomit.

You may get the mild queasiness when you first wake up, or certain smells may trigger your nausea throughout the day. You may have to endure weeks, or even months, of feeling or being sick.

The term “morning sickness” is misleading, as only one woman in 25 feels sick just in the morning, so it doesn’t accurately describe what most women experience. Nausea and vomiting can strike at any time of the day.

Morning sickness can be a great strain, and not just for you. It can affect your relationships with your partner, family and friends, and even lead to depression.

The most severe form of morning sickness is hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). If you’re vomiting many times a day, unable to eat or drink without being sick and if you’re losing weight, you may have HG.

Unlike normal morning sickness, HG can affect you and your baby’s health unless it’s treated. So talk to your doctor or midwife as soon as you can.