All About Morning Nausea and Sickness
Although the term “morning sickness” is commonly used, it is in fact misleading since many women who are pregnant do experience nausea symptoms at other times besides the morning (although the morning remains the most intense).Nausea and vomiting have been shown to affect as many as three out of every four women, with symptoms usually starting around week 6 and ending around week 14 or 18; however, a few women do have symptoms through the end of their pregnancy.Morning sickness may be common, and it may not “last forever,” but that doesn’t mean it should go untreated or unregarded.
Although the reasons for nausea and/or vomiting during pregnancy are not 100% clear, it seems that a combination of causes – hormonal, physical, psychological – are responsible. These include the pregnancy hormone, hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), whose levels tend to match levels of nausea, as well as increased estrogen; in fact, the increased amount of estrogen can also explain the sensitivity to odors that many women experience during pregnancy.
If a woman normally “feels sick” (nauseated) or even throws up when she is stressed, some researchers feel that it is therefore to be expected that she would do the same during pregnancy.There are many strategies you can use to try to get nausea relief; though they are not backed by hard science, they are practices which have been used by generations of women and do not involve medication.
Many women try to eat several times during the day, always keeping something in their stomachs; you can also keep crackers by your bed for right when you wake up in the morning.Let your stomach settle for about half an hour, and then get up – you may not experience as much nausea this way. It is also a smart idea just to take your time getting up in general, instead of jumping right out of bed.
Some women report nausea relief with high-carbohydrate meals, others with high-protein; while you should experiment and see what works for you, you’ll probably want to avoid rich, fatty, acidic, and spicy foods in general.Avoid those foods which cause you nausea, even if it seems like practically everything is making you sick – there’s no point in forcing yourself.Besides choosing bland foods, you’ll want to try to eat foods at room temperature or cold, since hot foods have stronger aromas and can cause nausea.
Cold fizzy drinks, beverages made with real ginger (like ale or tea), and sports drinks are all good choices to help counteract vomiting and for overall good health; just be careful not to drink much with food so you don’t overfill your stomach.
Be aware that nausea can be caused by non-food triggers, such as strong odors or motion (like being in the car); you may also try options like using an acupressure wristband or hypnosis to find nausea relief.Morning sickness may be common, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a huge, stressful obstacle; this means that even if you’ve tried every natural remedy and they don’t work, you can and should still discuss medication options with your doctor.
For more information go to early pregnancy symptoms, early signs of pregnancy and Reasons for Infertility. Thanks and have a wonderful day!
This entry was posted on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 4:14 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.