A female colleague, 4 weeks pregnant with her second baby, is often absent from work. Most of the times she is tired, has complaints of dizziness, and throws up whatever she eat. The nausea and vomiting is worst in the mornings. As a result, she has lost quite a number of pounds. This condition is called morning sickness.
Many pregnant women may experience symptoms like frequent vomiting during the mornings, dizziness, weight loss, and general weakness. These symptoms are suggestive of morning sickness which is seen mostly in the first trimester of pregnancy, and it gradually disappears during the fourth month of pregnancy (second trimester). However, some women can experience it throughout the pregnancy term.
Causes
Morning sickness during pregnancy is experienced by almost 90% of pregnant women. According to researchers, it is triggered by increase in the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG)(made by the developing embryo) which over stimulates the area in the brain that controls vomiting and nausea. Other conditions that lead to morning sickness include an overactive thyroid gland, gall bladder disease, carrying twins or triplets, molar pregnancy (rare form of pregnancy with chromosomal abnormalities in fetus), digestive organs displacement, uterine muscles stretching, high fat diet, acidity in stomach and emotional stress.
Calling your doctor
You must call your doctor if you experience symptoms like vomiting black or red blood, more than four vomitings per day, weight loss of more than 2 pounds, inability to keep liquids down, dizziness, passing dark colored urine and rapid heartbeat.
Effect on the mother and baby
In normal cases of morning sickness, there is no major complication in mother and child. However if your body weight was below normal before pregnancy, then you will not be able to put on healthy weight during pregnancy due to constant vomiting. It can leave you dehydrated and weak. This in turn leads to delivery of a baby who is underweight. If you are throwing up food and liquids often, you will not be able to supply the required amount of nutrition for your baby growing inside you which in turn affects the development of the baby. The continuous vomiting results in tear of the esophagus (tube that connects mouth to stomach). In severe cases of morning sickness, severe dehydration occurs due to loss of fluids as a result of vomiting. In these cases, hospitalization is required to give fluids intravenously. Vitamin supplements are also given to make up for the nutrients loss due to vomiting.
Relieving morning sickness
To relieve morning sickness, you can try having dry toast or soda crackers in the mornings. Avoid large meals and instead eat little quantities throughout the day. You should not remain with empty stomach as it will aggravate nausea. You must eat foods that are low in fat and rich in protein and carbohydrates like nuts, cheese, yogurt, milk, crackers and peanut butter. Avoid spicy greasy foods and opt for salty foods and ginger products like ginger candy, ginger tea and ginger soda. You can suck on ice pops, ice chips or hard candy. Drink lots of water and try sipping ginger ale. Smell of foods can trigger nausea so try avoiding them. It is better to take a walk out in the fresh air. You can feel nausea when you take your prenatal vitamins. To avoid this feeling it is recommended that you take your prenatal vitamins with a snack or at night. You can also suck on hard candy or chew gum after taking your prenatal vitamins to avoid nausea. Avoid second hand smoke and smoking completely. You can try acupressure wrist bands that can be found in your pharmacy, health food, boating and travel stores.
Treatment
In common cases of morning sickness you do not need any medication, but if the morning sickness is severe, then the doctor prescribes anti nausea medication and vitamin B -6 supplements. In condition like hyperemesis gravidarum, which is an extremely severe form of morning sickness, hospitalization is required where fluids are given intravenously. If Hyperemesis gravidum is left untreated, it may lead to serious complications like electrolyte imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, poor fetal growth or miscarriage. Alternative treatment methods are also available like acupuncture, acupressure and hypnosis. Some women find acupuncture useful in which thin hair like needles are inserted at certain points in the skin which is a painless procedure. Acupressure wrist bands are available in the local pharmacies which have been found to be effective in some women and lastly hypnosis has proved beneficial as well.
Maintaining healthy body weight
According to the American college of obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2/3 rd’s of the women who had morning sickness during first pregnancy can have it again in their second pregnancy. You must remember that morning sickness is a part of pregnancy and you cannot avoid it completely but if it becomes severe you must immediately consult your doctor to avoid serious complications. The key to minimizing morning sickness is to eat a healthy nutritious diet and maintain a healthy body weight even before conception of your baby.
