All in the name of Science... ;)

[urania.livejournal.com]

Crossposted in Menstrualhut and Vaginapagina!

I'm a junior undergrad student at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. I'm majoring in bioanthropology, and I'm taking a course on Evolutionary Perspectives on Gender (taught by the most excellent Dr. Barbara King I might add). For a project I'm doing, I'm collecting data from women who have carried to term and delivered a baby within the past five years. The data relates to morning sickness triggers, cravings, and possibly will link to (to support or refute) the studies of Margie Profet in her article on "Pregnancy Sickness as Adaptation: A Deterrent to Maternal Ingestion of Teratogents." If you can fill out the questions for me, or if you're just interested in seeing what it's all about,

If you have had a baby within the past five years and will fill this out for me, please do so and email it to rebecca@simmons.net with your full name and state of residence in the email. I will keep your information confidential, and if I need to refer to you individually in my report will do so either by first name only or by initials. If you have questions, feel free to email me with them as well. I really appreciate anyone who will help me out with this!

And now, the questions, ladies; drumroll please!

1. For the pregnancy in question, in what month and year was the baby born?

2. Did you experience “morning sickness,” an aversion to certain foods or cooking smells and/or pregnancy-related stomach upset, nausea and/or vomiting, during the pregnancy?

3. On a scale of 1-10, with one being least severe and ten most severe, rate the average severity of the sickness.

4. Please list any foods whose scents triggered aversion, nausea or vomiting.

5. Please list any foods which, upon eating them, triggered aversion, nausea or vomiting. (Lists may overlap.)

6. In specific, did any of the foods listed below trigger aversion, nausea or vomiting either by scent (please mark “S”), by eating them (“E”), or not at all? (If you did not ingest food or do not remember doing so, mark an “X” by it.)
-celery or parsnip
-cabbage, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts
-mustard or broccoli
-black pepper, cocoa or nutmeg
-potatoes
-eggplant
-milk or meat products (please list)
-barbecued or fried foods (please list)
-bread or cereal products (please list)

7. How far into your pregnancy were you when morning sickness began? How far into your pregnancy were you when it ended?

8. During your pregnancy did you crave any specific food(s) or type of food? If so, which? (For each, list also whether you craved it weakly or strongly on a scale of 1-10, one being weakly and 10 being strongly.)

9. How far into your pregnancy were you when you began cravings? How far into your pregnancy were you when they ended?

Thanks, ladies! If you would like a copy of any results I find, email me at rebecca@simmons.net requesting one; I’ll happily provide it.

Comments

[macabre-grrl.livejournal.com]

You should definitely find communities for pregnant women and parents. Many of the people in these communities are young women and teenagers. There are certainly mothers here too, but you will get results much faster from the types of places I mentioned.