It’s the weekend, and you are watching a movie with family and friends; the actress wakes up feels nauseated then walks down to the pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test only to find out that she is pregnant.
This scene happens in all movies only because it happens as often in reality; 50% of pregnant women experience morning sickness.
Morning Sickness is feeling nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and unlike the name suggests it can happen during any time of the day. Despite being an unpleasant feeling, morning sickness doesn’t affect your or your baby’s health in a bad way so there is no need to worry.
Morning Sickness Symptoms
If you are experiencing morning sickness, you will probably feel nauseated most of the time with some episodes of vomiting. Although these symptoms usually hit early first thing in the morning, many mothers have reported experiencing them during any time of the day.
Nausea and vomiting usually occur following a trigger such as the spicy foods, perfumes, noise, heat, or an extra lit room. It’s easy to detect those triggers and once you do avoiding them will be the best thing to do in order to prevent morning sickness. However, new moms might experience other symptoms like fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, a stronger sense of smell, or dizziness.
In 1–2% of women, the condition might progress to hyperemesis gravidarum. This is a more dangerous health condition with exaggerated vomiting leading to dehydration and chemical imbalance. So if you pass a small amount of urine that is dark in color, lose a significant amount of weight, or feel dizziness or fainting; call your doctor.
In mild cases, the condition can be treated at home with fluids, antacids, and rest. However, more severe cases may require a hospital admission where they might need IV fluids.
When Does Morning Sickness Start?
Most women start feeling morning sickness starting from the 4th week of pregnancy until the end of the first trimester. Morning sickness is felt by 50 to 75% of women and is actually a healthy sign of pregnancy. Mothers who report it are less likely to have miscarriages and stillbirths compared to those who don’t.
Symptoms start to improve at the 12th to 14th week and are usually totally gone by the 20th week.
10 percent of women experience morning sickness all throughout their pregnancy and others re-experience it in their third trimester as the baby size is large and compresses the intestines. Regardless general rule is that morning sickness lasts only the first trimester.
One theory is that morning sickness is a defensive mechanism that protects the mother and baby from eating poisoned food when the baby’s immunity is not fully developed hence it’s peak between 4 to 12 weeks.
