Most of us have heard of the term "morning sickness", even those fortunate enough never to have experienced it. The common understanding is that it's when a pregnant woman feels a bit queasy before breakfast but after a ginger biscuit or two, all is well and she's good to get on with her day.
And yes, this may be true for some women. But not all.
It might seem like a trivial point, why does it matter what we call it? Because those two words carry an assumption and the repercussions of that assumption are enormous. The assumption is that this is always a mild condition, confined to the mornings and that's all.
Except it isn't. Only 1.8% of women report nausea in the morning alone. 80% experience it throughout the entire day. Of those affected, 60% have moderate to severe symptoms. The term doesn't just minimise the condition, it's factually incorrect.
When I try to explain what pregnancy sickness actually feels like to someone who hasn't experienced it, I always say: think about the last time you had food poisoning; the nausea, the vomiting, the inability to function. Now imagine having that day in, day out, for months, with no respite. Oh and you're in the early stages of pregnancy, when most people don't even know you're pregnant, so you're basically suffering in silence.
So let's call it what it is: pregnancy sickness.
Words shape how we think. They shape how clinicians respond, how employers react, how partners understand. Getting the language right isn't a small thing. It is the first step towards taking this condition seriously.