What happens when you don't know your family medical history?

A recent survey of 1,077 women who had been pregnant within the past three years found that 15% of pet-owning respondents experienced aversion to their dog during pregnancy, according to 2025 research from the UK pet insurer ManyPets.

One woman, Sylvia Luu, began to loathe the smell of her border collie mix, Ranger, about three weeks into her first pregnancy. She found the smell of his fur so disgusting that she wore a nose plug all day.

Luu's doctor said that her nausea was normal and advised her to drink more water to avoid dehydration from vomiting, but that didn't alleviate Luu's distress.

Luu was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition caused by hormonal shifts, much like the more familiar morning sickness. For 1%-3% of pregnant people, these shifts result in extreme nausea and disgust sensitivity.

Dr Katherine Compitus, director of veterinary social work at New York University's Silver School of Social Work, has helped clients experiencing pet aversion. She says that prenatal pet aversion isn't particularly rare and that there are signs that it may be more common than previously thought.

Compitus recommends that anyone whose feelings about their pets are becoming distressing or out of proportion speak with a therapist, particularly those who use exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.

A survey of 1,077 women who had been pregnant within the past three years found that 15% of pet-owning respondents experienced aversion to their dog during pregnancy, according to 2025 research from the UK pet insurer ManyPets.

On Reddit, pregnant posters complain about feeling annoyed or repelled by their pets' noises, smells and behaviours. 'I'm a huge animal lover but this pregnancy I hate all of them,' wrote one user.

Perinatal depression, anxiety and OCD may contribute to intense, confusing feelings, and a pet may become an outlet for difficult emotions too risky to direct at a partner or child, Compitus says.

There is almost no research into the specific phenomenon of pet aversion during and post-pregnancy, which is at an intersection of women's health being underfunded and human-animal bond work being trivialised.