How to Manage Morning Sickness

In This Article You Will Know:

• Is morning sickness a sign of good or bad health?
• Why does it occur only in the morning?
• What are the causes?
• When do you need to consult your healthcare provider?
• What should you call it, a boon or a bane?
• How morning sickness and motion sickness are interrelated?

Though not a serious health issue, some pregnant women still need to know how to manage morning sickness. Here you will learn some interesting facts about a sickness that is not limited to “morning”.

In the book she compiled “Motherhood Trials & Blessings: Hope for Couples Dealing with Morning Sickness”, Ruth Auker (2013) shares the experience of a mother who made an amazing discovery during her 11 pregnancies.

Her experience is surprising. During the first three pregnancies, she had hard cases of morning sickness. It lasted all day. She often felt nauseated in the evening, which was as bad as in the morning.

Then a surprising thing happened. The next six pregnancies did not put her to as much trial as the first three ones. It was amazing for her to feel alittle morning sickness. Then came another surprise, a bigger one! Morning sickness during her 10th pregnancy again grew severer. It was unbelievable for her.

By that time, she had discovered the reason behind such an unusual reaction of her body to pregnancy. She had, unknowingly, been treating her morning sickness. So, during the 11th pregnancy (which was her last baby), she was able to relieve the symptoms with the help of a natural cure.

What was the cure the mother of 11 discovered after her 10 pregnancies? You will get the answer to this query later. First, let’s talk about the condition and its symptoms.

Morning Sickness Definition:

Morning sickness is a condition related to pregnancy, particularly the first trimester. It is characterized by a nauseated feeling, which may lead to vomiting. Such a queasy feeling starts between the 4th and 6th week into the pregnancy.

Though you call it “morning” sickness, nausea and vomiting during early pregnancy are not limited to the morning. Some women experience it in the evening just as bad as in the morning.

Do All Pregnant Women Get Morning Sick?

Do all the pregnant women experience morning sickness? Does queasy feeling occur only during the morning? Each woman experiences pregnancy differently. So, she may use different approaches to deal with it. Though most pregnant women do have nausea and/or vomiting in the early months, a minor proportion is of those who don’t produce such reactions to hormones of pregnancy.

Pregnancy involves hormonal changes in the body. When women find it difficult adapting to the hormones of pregnancy, they feel sick. Some women have less difficulty adapting to these hormonal changes, so they don’t get queasy feeling attached to pregnancy.

Does Morning Sickness Hurt Your Baby?

Is morning sickness a boon or a bane? Many doctors call it a sign of good health. Women with this condition are believed to be having a healthy pregnancy. So, limited food intake and occasional vomiting will not hurt your baby.

On getting to the 12th week, most pregnant women feel a lot better and they start eating normally.

What Is the First Question to a Woman with Nausea?

This type of sickness usually means a woman has conceived a baby. So, other women on seeing such a woman ask, “Is there a piece of good news?” If the reply to this question is a ‘smile’, the woman being interrogated is not ill but pregnant.

When do you need to consult your healthcare provider?

While morning sickness is not a serious health problem, pregnant women usually don’t need any treatment. However, if nausea and vomiting become severe, they may consult their healthcare provider. They will suggest ways to manage the condition and relieve the symptoms.

How to Manage Morning Sickness?

Trish Booth (2004), the author of “Pregnancy Q&A: What You Want and Need to Know About Pregnancy and Childbirth” suggests some useful ways regarding how to manage morning sickness.

Here’s what you need to do to deal with the issues during the early months of pregnancy.

Don’t Leave Your Stomach Empty:

Sometimes, even those women who are less prone to morning sickness start feeling nausea when they have an empty stomach. So, keeping a little something in your stomach can help you cope with the condition. However, the following precautions should be considered:

• Eat a little food more frequently during the day, rather than eating much and less frequently.
• Do not eat or drink a lot at once.
• Go for bland carbohydrates and low-fat foods as they make good, healthy choices.
• Take a small snack before you go to bed.
• Eat dry carbohydrates like a toast, rice cake, or some dry cereal in the morning.
• Nibble on something if you get up during the night.
• Keep sipping fluids throughout the day.

Avoid Triggers:

Trish Booth also advises avoiding such foods which may trigger or increase nausea. Here are some precautions related to triggers.

• Pregnant women usually have an increased sense of smell. So, the odour may make women susceptible to nausea.
• If you find it difficult to handle raw meat, try to have someone else cook that part of the meal.

Complementary Therapies:

Sometimes, women with morning sickness find it difficult to deal with nausea and vomiting. They can go for complementary therapies, which can be very beneficial.

• Consult your healthcare provider about taking a vitamin B6 supplement.
• Consider wearing acupressure wristbands, called the sea bands, with the advice of your healthcare provider.
• A ginger intake may be helpful in settling the stomach. It may be in the form of ginger ale or ginger tea. Alternatively, you can steep a small piece of peeled fresh ginger in a cup of boiling water, add honey or sugar, and sip it throughout the day.

Use of Goat Milk:

At the beginning of this article, you might have gone through Ruth Auker’s account of a mother of 11, who had a surprising experience during the first 10 pregnancies. The reason why she didn’t get morning sickness during the six pregnancy after the first three was that she milked a goat and used goat’s milk.

On discovering that it was the goat’s milk that acted as a cure for her morning sickness, she again used goat’s milk during the 11th pregnancy and got the expected results.

Motion Sickness vs Morning Sickness:

Motion sickness and morning sickness are interrelated. Though each condition results from different causes, both involve similar symptoms.

While morning sickness occurs during the early months of pregnancy, motion sickness is something related to travel. Motion sickness can suddenly start while travelling by car, train, aeroplane, or boat.

A woman who is already having motion sickness becomes more susceptible to morning sickness. It may make nausea and vomiting more severe.