Morning Sickness: Everything You Need To Know

Morning sickness isn’t an alien term for pregnant women. Morning sickness refers to the feeling of nausea and vomiting that pregnant women suffer from in the morning.

It’s the worst in the morning and subsides during the course of the day. Morning sickness is usually a sign of early pregnancy.

It begins somewhere in the 4th week of pregnancy and lasts up to 16-20 weeks. For some women, it’s even longer than that.

Having these feelings is perfectly normal for pregnant women and renders no harm to the unborn baby. However, if this feeling prolongs, then you should consult your doctor immediately.

Causes

There could be many causes of morning sickness, but some of them include:

• Hormonal fluctuation: Rapid increase in hormones like estrogen and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is often linked with the symptoms of nausea.
• Smell and odor sensitivities: Pregnant women often feel overwhelmed by the smell of the food and certain types of food happen to trigger the situation even more.
• Stress: Nausea and vomiting are also associated with stress. Stress aggravates nausea and vomiting.
• Sensitive stomach: Few women are sensitive to the changes of early pregnancies.

Physical and emotional effects:

Excessive vomiting can cause dehydration and malnutrition in pregnant women as they are unable to keep any sort of food or drink down.

Morning sickness affects the mom-to-be not only physically but emotionally and mentally as well. Being sick and not being able to leave the house can lead to social isolation and thus it can cause anxiety and depression among pregnant women.

The emotional instability is not only limited to the pregnancy but can last for years even after the pregnancy. This situation can be worse for the working woman as it affects their work life as well and some women even end up quitting their jobs.

Loss of earnings, employment, and monetary instability can have negative effects on women’s mental health.

Step-by-step care:

Morning sickness cannot be avoided but adopting a few eating habits may help get a bit of relief from these uncomfortable feelings. A few of the suggestions include:

• Heated food usually has a stronger odor, so avoid cooking food in the morning as it can make nausea even worse.
• Have small meals throughout the day as missing meals altogether can make the situation worse.
• Similarly, have small drinks in between the meals and avoid having large drinks.
• Avoid fatty, spicy, or oily foods.
• Have a healthy snack before going to bed.
• Enjoy slushies, popsicles or suck ice when you feel nauseous.

Besides this, the following few tips may also help you. Ditch work and take some rest. Distract yourself by playing games or involving yourself in different activities that will keep you engaged.

Keep your body and mind at rest. Try to stay hydrated and find foods that work for you.