Table of Contents
Overview
Morning sickness is when you have nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. It can happen any time of the day but most of the time its worst in the morning that is why it’s called morning sickness. Morning sickness can start anytime even before a pregnancy test also. It varies from women to women and pregnancy to pregnancy. Up to 70% or more women experience nausea and vomiting in their first trimester.
Morning sickness can start very early for some women. Morning sickness can start as early as a few weeks after conception and be the first sign of pregnancy. It usually starts at about 6 weeks of pregnancy and is at its worst at about 9 weeks. Most women feel better in their second trimester, but some have morning sickness throughout pregnancy. At least 7 in 10 pregnant women have morning sickness in the first trimester of pregnancy.
In rare cases, people can develop severe morning sickness, or hyperemesis gravidarum (HE), which occurs in roughly 0.3–3%. HE can last throughout pregnancy and may get worse during the second trimester. Hyperemesis gravidarum is severe nausea and vomiting that needs treatment (sometimes in a hospital) to help you get better.
Symptoms of Morning Sickness
Morning sickness is different for every women so the symptoms. Some of the symptoms a women can notice are:
- Stomach pain
- Cramping
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Dizziness and low energy
- De-hydration and feeling thirsty always
- Sensitivity to smell
- Enhance sense of smell
- Fatigue and tiredness
For some women morning sickness can triggered by certain food and smell. When morning sickness is severe, a women can experience regular vomiting and unable to keep liquid down which can cause severe dehydration including dark urine, infrequent urination, thirst, and feeling dizzy or faint. If these symptoms occur, it is important to call doctor immediately because without treatment dehydration can be serious.
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Causes of morning sickness
There is no certain cause of morning sickness; it can be causes by increased pregnancy hormone, low blood sugar, due to stress or tiredness, due to certain food or smell, because of hot weather, genetics, if you are first time pregnant and in some people due to travelling also.
Is morning sickness harmful for unborn baby?
Morning sickness can make you feel miserable but it is a good sign. It means that the levels of hormones in your body are high and protecting your pregnancy. Morning sickness is not a sign of a problem with the pregnancy, and it does not mean that the baby is unwell. According to some studies morning sickness can be a positive sign while pregnancy.
How to prevent morning sickness before it starts?
There are some things that you can do to feel better and prevent it but there is no guaranteed way to prevent all morning sickness. Some of the recommendations are:
- Take a Prenatal vitamin before and during pregnancy and ask your health care provider which one will be safe for you to take because some of the multivitamins can also cause symptoms like morning sickness
- Eat regular and small meals instead to large meals
- Avoid the food that trigger your morning sickness
- Keep yourself hydrated always and drink water regularly.
- Take Vitamin B6 after consulting with your healthcare provider
- Increase protein intake
- Have healthy and small snacks between meals
- Eat easy to digest food and don’t eat spicy foods
- Ask doctor about doxylamine, which is an antihistamine that is safe for use during pregnancy
- Try acupuncture or acupressure but always check about the safety with doctor before trying this
15 Tips to deal with morning sickness
Here are some to the ways to help with morning sickness which are worth to try and to feel better.
1. Stop working and take a nap
Sometime stress is the reason of your morning sickness so it’s better to ditch your work and take a nap. Sometime this small tip can make you feel so better that you can’t think. Give yourself a break your body is already working a lot to grow a healthy baby inside your womb. Keep yourself free form any hectic task physically and mentally both.
2. Exercise
Exercise is a medicine for all the health problems so never stop that. Continue walking, swimming or any prenatal exercise in which you are comfortable. Keep moving will help you with your morning sickness too so keep your body moving and in check.
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3. Lemon juice
Lemon is a great way to deal with morning sickness. Take lemon juice many times in day in meals or snacks to feel better. You can even have lemonade few times in a day to keep yourself hydrated and to get relief from morning sickness.
4. Avoid triggers of morning sickness
Sometime for some women morning sickness is associated with certain food, certain smell or time. Try to avoid that food or smell for some time until your morning sickness ends. For example when I was pregnant my trigger was onion and I didn’t even look at onion for 9 months. So basically a simple rule here is to avoid as much as possible because any trigger can start your morning sickness.
5. Keep yourself hydrated
Water is an important part of our body and staying hydrated is always must. Keep your water bottle with you always and sip water thought-out the day to prevent dehydration. Dehydration can also be a reason of morning sickness and for some women regular vomiting can make them dehydrated. So it is important to keep your water intake in check.
6. Choose right food to eat
There is no certain definition of what to eat and what to not. It’s just depend on your body because certain food can be right for me but not right for you. So always do experiment and try to find what suits you best and try to eat according for your body always. I know, it takes lots of hard work to find out what works and what not but it is very important to eat right food to reduce the symptoms of morning sickness.
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7. Keep snacking regularly
Snacking on small and healthy things is a wonderful way to prevent morning sickness. Sometime morning sickness comes with a hunger feeling and if you stay hungry for long time, it will only make your symptoms worse. Try to keep some snacks near to your bed and keep snacking between meals, thought out the day or as you get up in the morning.
8. Try adding ginger in food
Ginger is an excellent anti-oxidant and a great herb for many problems. It can help in your morning sickness too. You can add a slice of ginger in food or sip on ginger tea few times a day to feel better. You can add ginger in water, food, tea or snack on some ginger candies and so on. Find the way that suits you best to include it in your diet.
9. Oral health
Some time morning sickness can cause you regular vomiting which can cause bad smell in your mouth very often. That bad smell and poor oral health can also be a reason of your on-going morning sickness. Try to keep your teeth clean every time after vomiting and use a good mouth freshener to keep that bad smell away from your mouth.
10. Wear comfortable cloths
Wear loose and comfortable clothes, restrictive and tight clothing may worsen the symptoms of nausea and morning sickness.
11. Try alternative treatment for morning sickness
There are many alternative treatments available to deal with morning sickness. Check with your doctor always before trying any of them and find the one that suits you best. Acupressure wristbands are available without a prescription in most pharmacies. Studies on acupressure wristbands have had mixed results, but some women seem to find the wristbands helpful. You can also try Acupuncture, hypnosis and Aromatherapy.
12. Don’t forget your vitamins and supplement
Don’t forget your vitamins and supplement if you are taking and try to take them only with food because that can also upset you stomach. Supplements should be only taken after consulting with doctor and find the best supplement that suits you. Vitamin B6 may help reduce nausea but iron supplement can sometime lead to morning sickness. So always try to take your iron supplement with vitamin c rich foods.
13. Breath in fresh air
Sometime fresh air can do wonders for you. If weather permits, go for a walk, sit in balconies and open the windows in your house.
14. Ask for help
Morning sickness can make it difficult for you to go about daily tasks, such as work or looking after other children and many more. You can ask for help with relative and friends or check for any domestic help to support you in daily routine tasks.
15. Distract yourself
Morning sickness is not easy to ignore but sometime there is no other option rather than avoiding. Try to distract yourself from this and do some activities that can take your mind off. You can watch movies, read books, do puzzles, go out with friends or anything that can distract you from the situation.
