Morning Sickness Starts
How To Cope When Morning Sickness Starts
Usually, morning sickness starts around four to six weeks into pregnancy. For most women, it subsides after the first trimester. However, some experience morning sickness into to the second and even third trimester. It can also vary with each pregnancy for the same woman.
Over fifty percent of pregnant women experience morning sickness. The exact cause is not known, but it is likely due to the excess production of hormones in your body during pregnancy.
Morning sickness can range from a mildly upset stomach to extreme nausea, vomiting, and other flu-like symptoms. For some women, morning sickness starts when they wake up in the morning, and subsides later in the afternoon. Others feel their worst in the evening. Morning sickness is a very unpleasant experience and often makes it very hard to perform your usual activities.
Things That Help
- Ginger ale can help (try to get the natural kind made from real ginger root). Ginger has long been known to help ease a queasy stomach.
- Many women swear that keeping a few packages of saltine crackers by the bedside to nibble on during the night keeps nausea at bay.
- Eating several small snacks throughout the day as opposed to a few large meals will keep you from getting too full or too hungry – both major causes of upset stomach.
- Try keeping a supply of nutritional shakes on hand. Even if you don’t feel like eating, you can usually down one of these and get some nutrients into your body.
- Try some of the specialized morning sickness products on the market. There are snack bars, drinks, and even candies formulated just for pregnant women with morning sickness.
- Try adding vitamin B6 to your supplement regimen.
- Drinking peppermint tea can soothe your stomach and help to get rid of nausea.
- Stay hydrated, but drink water in small amounts throughout the day. Gulping down too much water, too fast can trigger nausea.
- Rest as much as you can. This is easier said than done, especially if you work or have other children at home. However, you need to allow others to help you. Also, sometimes you have to prioritize your obligations; know that a nap is always more important than washing the dishes or shaving your legs. Being pregnant is hard work and your body needs all the rest it can get.
- Steer clear of strong odors that could trigger your nausea. This might mean changing up your menu or allowing others to cook for you while you take a walk or rest in another room.
- Lemon tea is an old favorite for calming the stomach
- Stay cool. Dress in layers and make sure you have adequate ventilation wherever you are. Overheating can really exacerbate nausea.
- Regular, gentle exercise can help with digestion.
- Stay away from spicy or high fat, high-sugar foods, which can irritate the stomach.
- Eating watermelon can help to comfort the stomach, while providing much-needed hydration.
- Don’t lie down right after eating. Try to stay upright for at least thirty minutes to allow proper digestion.
When To Worry
When morning sickness is so severe that you can’t keep any food down for days on end, and your nausea is so severe as to be completely debilitating, you might have hyperemesis gravidarum (regular morning sickness is referred to as emesis gravidarum by the medical community). This is a condition that needs medical attention. If the case is mild, you can often get better by simply drinking electrolyte replacement formulas and resting. In extreme cases, you may be hospitalized so that electrolytes and nutrients can be fed to you intravenously.
Call your doctor if:
- Your nausea is very severe
- You can’t keep any food down for long periods
- You experience weight loss
- Your muscles ache deeply
- You get fevers and chills
If morning sickness starts to interfere with you daily life, it can be a sign that you need to relax and concentrate on taking the best possible care of yourself and your unborn child.