Morning Sickness During Pregnancy

Approximately 50-90% of pregnant women experience discomfort from the nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy. The exact cause of morning sickness is not known.

If you experience nausea or vomiting during your pregnancy you are not alone.  In fact, morning sickness is one of the most common complaints of pregnancy affecting on an average of around 70% of pregnant women. While it may be called morning sickness it can occur at any time during the day.

Morning sickness may begin very early in your pregnancy, as early as a few days after you have missed your period, and it can persist throughout your pregnancy. Normally it starts to diminish after the first trimester.

The factors that cause morning sickness are not know but it seems related to an increase in the level of the hormone estrogen, low levels of blood sugar, an increase in progesterone and human chorionic gonadotropin, and an increase in sensitivity to odors.

Even though the exact cause of morning sickness is not know, several things are known that you can do to help reduce the nausea and vomiting.  These things include the following:

Avoid large meals and eat smaller meals often
Avoid an empty stomach
Do not lie down after eating
Drink fluids 1/2 hour before or after a meal, but not with meals
Eat soda crackers as soon as you get up in the morning
Get plenty of rest and nap during the day
Since heat adds to the symptoms, try to avoid warm places
Sniff lemons or drink lemonade
Try ginger, in capsules, tea, ginger ale, ginger snaps
Do not cook or eat spicy food
Develop a regular exercise program

If you have nausea and vomiting to the point that you can not keep food down, if the vomiting is accompanied by pain or fever, or the morning sickness continues into the second trimester, you should be sure to contact your health care provider.