The 'good news' that you're pregnant is only the beginning of a journey that involves many physical and emotional changes you need to deal with on your way to childbirth. Generally, for most pregnant women, the first and the most noticeable sign of pregnancy is morning sickness. Here's everything you need to know about the symptoms, causes, treatments, and preventive measures for morning sickness during pregnancy.
Morning sickness is a common early symptom of pregnancy that involves nausea and occasional vomiting. However, the "morning" part of this term is quite a misnomer because it neither always happens in the morning nor is severe sickness. It typically hits in the morning and usually resolves as the day goes on. Despite its name, morning sickness can hit you at any time of the day or night. According to various studies, morning sickness affects up to 80% of pregnant women.
Morning sickness typically starts in the first trimester, between weeks 6 to 9. It peaks between weeks 10 to 16 and usually subsides between weeks 12 to 16 of pregnancy. However, morning sickness can start earlier for some expectant moms and last longer, even up to the third trimester.
The exact causes of morning sickness are still unknown, but most experts agree that the hormonal changes of pregnancy are responsible for it:
The estrogen level during pregnancy can be 100 times higher compared to levels found in non-pregnant women. The change in hormone levels can trigger morning sickness.
During pregnancy, the rising progesterone levels relax the stomach and intestine, leading to excess stomach acid and ultimately causing acid reflux or vomiting.
Soon after conception, the developing embryo produces this hormone, and then later, the placenta produces it. An increased level of the pregnancy hormone hCG may worsen morning sickness.
A sharper sense of smell due to various pregnancy hormones might aggravate your nausea further.
Low blood sugar (glucose) level caused by the placenta draining energy from your body can sometimes cause morning sickness.
Other factors that can worsen morning sickness include:
The most common symptoms of morning sickness include:
Normal morning sickness generally doesn't harm you and your baby. However, if left untreated, severe nausea and vomiting can cause you several pregnancy complications. Call your doctor immediately if you experience:
For most cases of morning sickness, supplements or medications are not required. You can treat it at home with the following tips:
There's no way to prevent morning sickness completely. However, you can take the following steps to minimize the chances of nausea:
If none of the treatments and preventive measures mentioned above works, you must consult your healthcare provider.
Author Bio:- I’m Darfashan Parveen — A passionate blogger, having 7+ years of experience. I love to read and write about Pregnancy, Parenting, and Baby Care to make people aware of parenthood challenges and easy ways to overcome them.
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