Morning sickness could indicate a higher baby IQ

Suffering from morning sickness when pregnant could be an indication that a bright baby is on the way, researchers in Canada believe. Looking at the cases of around 120 women who phoned a special NVP (nausea and vomiting of pregnancy) helpline during a certain period, specialists at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto concluded that babies born to women who experience such symptoms tend to have higher-than-average IQs.

According to numeracy and verbal fluency testing carried out on children aged between three and seven, the greater the levels of morning sickness, the higher the IQ level.

Conversely, the achievements of babies whose mothers did not experience morning sickness in the first few weeks and months of pregnancy were found to be not as high.

Commenting on the findings, study leader Dr Gideon Koren said: "It's important to stress it was not mental retardation or anything.

"It was a few points of IQ, and other functions such as language development."

In most cases, morning sickness tends to cease after the 12th week of pregnancy.