Morning Sickness The No Fun Part of Pregnancy
While “morning sickness” does tend to be more intense upon waking and shortly thereafter, the fact is that nausea during pregnancy can be experienced during any time of the day, as many women will attest.Nausea and/or vomiting tends to begin around week six and last through about week 14 or 18; while this is the case for the majority of women who experience symptoms (about 75% of all pregnant women report morning sickness), there are a few who continue to have them throughout the pregnancy.Whether they last a few weeks or a few months, the symptoms of morning sickness are a force to be reckoned with, and should not be dismissed.
While not definitively identified or understood, and while each woman is, of course, different, nausea seems to be related to a convergence of physical, hormonal, and psychological factors.The most notorious of these is hCG, the pregnancy hormone (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is responsible for many changes in the body and is closely linked with nausea levels; estrogen and its ability to increase sensitivty to smell also likely plays an important role.
For some women, their natural stress response is to feel nauseated or to vomit, meaning that morning sickness during pregnancy is practically “normal” for them; however, this has not been scientifically confirmed.There is a great deal of common wisdom regarding natural (non-medication) nausea relief; although these strategies have not necessarily been scientifically tested, some women swear by them.
Avoid letting your stomach get so empty it growls – you should eat frequently during the day so there’s always “something in there”; be sure to keep some crackers by your bed so you can have something when you wake up.Stay laying down for a while, approximately half an hour, and then try getting out of bed – many women experience less nausea.It’s also just a generally good idea for any pregnant woman to take her time waking up and getting 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. You’ll want to try to eat fairly bland foods, and also to eat them while they are at room temperature or even cold, because hot foods have stronger odors.
You must drink plenty of fluids, for good health and to counteract vomiting – but be sure not to have too many liquids at meals, as you’ll likely be too full; good beverage choices include ginger tea or ginger ale (real ginger works against nausea), sports drinks, and cold, carbonated beverages.
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.And if none of these or other non-medication strategies work for you, do not resign yourself to suffering in silence; have a discussion with your doctor about the possibility of using medication to relieve your nausea symptoms.
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