Research-backed
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Once your doctor confirms the “good” news to you, you are obviously on top of the world. Your face will glow with happiness. But with all the goodness comes the pregnancy symptoms too. And, the most common symptom that every expectant mom experiences is morning sickness. This refers to the health condition where you may experience nausea, and at times, even vomiting. And, contrary to what the name suggests, the “morning” sickness can strike you at any point in the day (1).
Over 50 percent of the soon-to-be moms suffer from morning sickness, especially when they are in their first trimester. But, don’t worry. This does not indicate that your little one is ill in any way. And, it also can’t hurt the baby within you. More often than not, it is caused by a drastic increase in the hormonal levels in your body. Also, if you are worried about it being something serious, rest assured as it is generally quite mild. In fact, for some expectant mothers, it also disappears somewhere along the pregnancy. A lucky few women don’t feel nauseous at all throughout their course of gestation (2).
Symptoms Of Morning Sickness
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The most common symptoms of morning sickness include vomiting and nausea. These symptoms can often be triggered even more by spicy foods, certain odors, and excess salivation. But, unfortunately, there are times when there is no trigger at all that results in morning sickness. As discussed earlier, this symptom mostly shows up in the first trimester – about nine weeks after you have conceived. And, the condition improves on its own by the mid or the later stages of the second trimester (3).
But, if you notice the below-mentioned symptoms, consult your doctor right away (4):
- You experience from symptoms much like flu, which may be indicative of an illness
- You constantly feel dizzy or lethargic
- You have severe bouts of vomiting frequently. At times, even several times in a day
- You are not able to retain any foods or fluids, which might be resulting in weight loss too
- You feel that the nausea is being caused due to the iron present in the prenatal vitamins
- You want to go for an anti-nausea medication. Try not to take any medicines without your doctor’s consultation
- Also, consult your doctor if you want to try out any treatment such as acupuncture
Though it happens pretty rarely, morning sickness might also become severe, which may progress to a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum. This mostly happens when the vomiting and nausea are so serious that it results in severe dehydration. Or, it may cause you to lose over five percent of the prepartum body weight too. You need to be very careful in such a scenario as you may need to be hospitalized and treated with medications and intravenous (IV) fluids (5).
How Can You Take Care?
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While you may not be able to get rid of morning sickness completely, you can take certain precautions to ease the discomfort from your end. Have a look at some of these suggestions (6):
- Instead of having three big meals, eat six smaller ones as this can help you avoid an empty stomach
- With your doctor’s approval, you can also take some multivitamin on a regular basis. This might help make morning sickness a little less serious. But, remember not to take it on an empty tummy as it may worsen the nausea
- Steer away from odors that make you feel nauseous
- Avoid foods that are fatty and spicy
- Eat dry cereal, dry toast, or saltine crackers before coming out of bed as it can help calm down the stomach
- Whenever you feel nauseous, go for bland foods such as banana, rice, or chicken broth since they are easy to digest
- Suck on weak tea, iced water, or clear sodas as soon as you experience nausea
Now that you are a little more aware of morning sickness and how to take care of it, calm down and cherish this beautiful phase of pregnancy-hood. Good luck, soon-to-be mommies!
