Morning Sickness

One of the first signs that you may be pregnant is the onset of morning sickness.  While you may be familiar with the term morning sickness you may not know how long the symptoms last or how severe they can be.  WIth that in mind, we created the information below to assist you in answering your questions about morning sickness.

Stomach queasiness, nausea,  and vomiting, usually collectively called morning sickness, is one of the very early symptoms of pregnancy and it is also one of the most common complaints.  In fact as many as 60%-90% of pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy. 

Most women do not know that while morning sickness typically occurs in the morning, it can in fact occur at any time during the day. And, while many women just feel a little queasy, others vomit and feel miserable all morning.  

Morning sickness usually starts within the 1st month of the pregnancy, reaching  a high-point in  weeks 5-7, and continuing until weeks 14-16. For half of the women who get morning sickness, it tapers off and stops around the 4th month of the pregnancy; however, for some women it persists through-out the pregnancy.  In the event you have severe or prolonged vomiting, make sure to contact your health care provider or call your local hospital emergency room.

While the exact cause of morning sickness is not known, it is usually seen as the result of combination of issues related to the chemical changes taking place in your body. Since any medications you take can affect your baby, it is important that you not take any medications to help relieve the symptoms without first checking with your health care provider.  Your health care provider may suggest that you take Vitamin B6 in combination with an antihistamine or they may prescribe anti-nausea medications.  However, below are listed some things that you can do to help relieve the symptoms:

*Avoid an empty stomach, do not skip meals, eat small amounts at each sitting, eat soda crackers as soon as you get up in the morning, and do not lie down after eating.
*Drink fluids 1/2 hour before or after a meal and make sure to drink plenty of fluid all day
*Get plenty of rest during the day
*Avoid warm places (feeling hot adds to nausea)
*Eat salty potato chips, eat nutritional healthy foods and avoid spicy foods, and with your health care providers approval try taking ginger in capsules, tea, ginger ale, ginger beer or ginger snaps.
Get regular exercise.

For additional information about morning sickness and your pregnancy, please visit the page Morning Sickness During Pregnancy on the website Pregnancy And Children.