What is Morning Sickness?
Morning sickness is a common pregnancy symptom that involves nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. It usually occurs in the morning but may occur at any time of day or night. Morning sickness can continue throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. Morning sickness is thought to be caused by your body’s changing hormones, which may cause stomach upset or food aversions. It can also occurs in some non-pregnant women who are taking birth control pills, but it’s much more common in pregnant women. Morning sickness has been reported to last for several weeks, or longer during the first trimester.
Symptoms of morning sickness
You may witness following symptoms of Morning Sickness during your pregnancy:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Loss of appetite
- Breathlessness
Causes of morning sickness
It has been a question that it has not been answered by the experts and remain a mystery. However the studies shows at morning sickness is caused by a combination of physical and metabolic changes and also includes the following:
- Changes in level of hormones- during the pregnancy your body increases the level of hormones specially Oestrogen (female sex hormone).
- High fluctuations in blood pressure, you may experience low energy due to lowered blood pressure
- Change in metabolism of carbohydrates
- The overall change in in physical and hormones that pregnancy triggers.
Does Morning Sickness hurt your baby?
It is a question of concern for many women that severe vomiting may create a problem for their Unborn child. The act of vomiting may strain the abdominal muscles which may result into stomach ache and soreness. However, experts believe that the physical mechanics of vomiting will not harm the baby. There is enough cushion inside the sac of amniotic fluid. So the fetus is safe and well cushioned inside the womb.
Health experts have discovered that moderate amount of morning sickness is an indication and associated with a reduced risk of miscarriage. However, severe vomiting may result into dehydration and lower blood pressure. It may deprive nutrition to your child which may increase the risk for you baby of being underweight. Therefore it is advisable to consult your doctor if you have unstoppable vomiting.
Severe Morning Sickness
Morning sickness is a condition where you experience extreme vomiting, dehydration, weight loss. It is also known as hyperemesis gravidarum. If you face this condition, you should consult the doctor had he may advise hospitalization to administer the liquids and nutrition in your body. If you ignore the severe morning sickness, the complications may include:
- Imbalance electrolytes
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Muscle cramps
- Low energy
Treatment of morning sickness
Following are the suggestions that can help you in treating this condition:
- You should consult your doctor regarding the medicines you are taking. Ask your doctor if ongoing medicines are safe to be consumed during pregnancy.
- You may eat biscuits or cookies of your choice before getting out of the bed in the morning.
- Avoid eating oily and junk foods as it will increase the burden on your liver for digestion. Instead you can go with high carbohydrate meals.
- Divide your meals in small portions and consume 6 to 7 times in a day. As empty stomach will make you feel nauseous and may trigger vomiting.
- Drink fluids as much as possible. Like Lemonade, juice, coconut water, ginger tea, soup, etc.
- Vitamin B6 supplements.
- Take sleep as much as possible.
- Avoid wearing perfumes.
- Avoid eating food high in sugar.
When should you consult the doctor?
You should consult the doctor incase your morning sickness is severe, if you feel depressed, in case of breathlessness, hyperacidity, extreme vomiting, etc. or in case you pass only a small amount of dark color urine. The doctor may prescribe you some medicines that won’t harm the baby.
Summary
Approximately two third off the women experience morning sickness during pregnancy. The possible reasons includes high level of of hormones, fluctuations in blood pressure, changes in metabolism rate. In severe cases hospitalization may be required. Severe morning sickness is termed as hyperemesis gravidarum.
Experts believe that morning sickness can be relieved by by eating few dry crackers as you get up in the morning. You should avoid food and smells that make you feel nauseous, drink enough quantity of water and other fluids it, include high carbohydrates and high proteins in your daily diet.