A doctor from the The State University of New York in Albany, says that swallowing sperm can help combat the symptoms of morning sickness, prevalent in pregnant woman in their first trimester.

Dr Gordon Gallup, who is a psychologist at SUNY maintains that woman who are exposed, on an ongoing basis, to the father’s semen, are less likely to suffer from morning sickness. Gallup, who is specialist in human reproductive competition and behavior, holds that pregnant mothers get morning sickness because their bodies reject the semen’s genetic material as a foreign body.

According to the doctor, ingesting the same sperm that caused the pregnancy actually allows the body to build up tolerance to it, thereby alleviating the morning sickness symptoms. The theory, which is yet to be tested properly in a medical study, seems to be a great hit with dads, who are reportedly thrilled with the new findings; I can’t think why.

The theory goes even further though, as Gallup proposes that the swallowing of semen would in fact ensure that morning sickness would ebb in future pregnancies, as the woman’s body becomes accustomed to the sperm through swallowing it. This obviously applies only if subsequent pregnancies are from the same father.

Gallup isn’t alone in his reasoning though. Dr Alyssa Dweck, who is an ob-gynaecologist in Mount Kisco and co-author of the book ‘V is for Vagina’ said that she finds the concept “very interesting.” She spoke about the fact that there is no known reason for morning sickness in pregnant woman:

“The accepted literature links it to possible blood sugar or hormone imbalances. Acid build-up may also cause the feelings of nausea.”

It remains to be seen whether or not swallowing sperm does actually reduce morning sickness in pregnant woman.