Morning Sickness in Pregnancy

Morning sickness is a term used to refer to nausea and vomiting associated with the early phases of pregnancy. It normally affects 50% to 80% women during pregnancy. With the onset of pregnancy, your body undergoes many hormonal changes.

These changes are said be the cause of morning sickness. Contrary to what the name suggests, morning sickness can strike you any time of the day. The name probably stuck because generally pregnant women experience morning sickness at its worst soon after waking up in the morning.

An empty stomach could be the possible cause of morning sickness. Morning sickness appears around the 4th week of pregnancy and lasts until the 14th to 16th week. In case the morning sickness symptom persists beyond the 16th week, you may consult your health care provider for finding safe methods for morning sickness relief.

How to Prevent Morning Sickness

Since morning sickness is a disturbing symptom, most of women would like to find ways to prevent morning sickness. Morning sickness can be a very unpleasant experience, especially given that some women suffer the symptoms until about the 16th week of your pregnancy. Here are some tips on morning sickness prevention.

• Eat small meals frequently every 2 to 3 hours for morning sickness relief.
  
• Walk around the house after a meal. Avoid lying down immediately after eating.
  
• Keep away from strong odors.
  
• If your symptoms are severe, consult your health care provider who may recommend some morning sickness medication.
  
• Have a snack before getting up from bed in the morning. It is an effective morning sickness relief measure. Rest for a while after the snack.
  
• Avoid skipping meals.
  
• If odor affects you, eat cold food. Hot food has more odors.
  
  
  
  
• Drink a lot of fluids - about 8 glasses a day.
  
• Avoid drinking fluids with meals.
  
• Take ginger as it helps prevent nausea.
  
• Try to take as much rest as you can. Your morning sickness symptom may appear when you are exhausted.

Causes of Morning Sickness

No one has been able to pinpoint the cause of morning sickness, but it is believed that hormonal changes associated with pregnancy are the real culprit.

The sudden increase in estrogen and progesterone levels, coupled with excess stomach acids could be the cause of morning sickness. Stress is also believed to contribute to the symptoms. Another cause of morning sickness is said to be the build up of human chorionic gonadotopin (hCG) in the system after implantation of the fertilized egg.

Morning Sickness Medication

If your symptoms are severe, consult your health care provider who may prescribe some morning sickness medication. Severe bouts of vomiting can cause dehydration, which can harm your baby and affect your health too. In case you throw up food and water every time you take them in, visit your health care provider at the earliest convenient date.

Talk to your doctor and explain your symptoms. The doctor will evaluate your condition and prescribe morning sickness medication accordingly. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, you could be administered medication orally or intravenously.

Morning sickness and pregnancy go hand in hand in most cases. The prevention tips described above will certainly help you find relief from its dreaded effects.

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