When does Morning Sickness begin During Pregnancy?
Morning sickness is the one sour experience of a beautiful pregnancy. The causes of this bitter sweet experience called morning sickness are many. So are the remedies for morning sickness. However, morning sickness is something that occurs in most carrying mothers. On an average it occurs in about half or fifty percent to about eighty percent of American pregnancies. But those who do not suffer from morning sickness need not despair, mainly because its occurrence is dependent on several factors including hereditary factors.
When does one feel morning sickness for the first time?
In a majority of the fifty to eighty percent of American pregnancies, the first signs of morning sickness are at the end of the first month or by the fourth or sixth week. The sickness could continue to about the end of the fourth month or the twelfth week to the sixteenth week. Another fact could be that morning sickness need not necessarily occur during the morning hours only. In some of the pregnancies it could occur throughout the day.
Are there any symptoms?
Most pregnancies would show symptoms of morning sickness such as backaches, low bowel movement, extreme sleepiness due to exhaustion or tiredness, increased frequencies in urination, increased sensations to smells especially that of food. Sometimes there are associated cramps in the lower abdomen.
What are the causes of morning sickness?
The increased levels of the human chorionic gonadotopin popularly called as hCG would be the most simplest cause. This is a hormone which begins to secrete immediately after implantation and continues till about the third month of pregnancy and then stops its secretion.
Another accepted theory is that the progesterone level in the pregnant body is so high that it will soften all the muscles including that of the stomach and the intestines. Therefore it takes longer for the movement of the bowels. This increases the level of stomach acids resulting in a lot of heartburn, uneasiness and nausea.
Are there any cures or remedies?
Some of the common alternate remedies that have come down the ages include, smelling lemons or ginger to keep down the nausea. On a more serious note, there are several medications and drugs prescribed to control the nausea.
Are there different types of morning sickness?
Morning sickness can be classified based on its intensity or severity. In its severest form, called as Hyperemesis Gravidarum, the nausea could lead to unprecedented complications like dehydration, loss of weight, increased rate of heart beat etc. If the severity of the morning sickness is not given proper treatment it could lead to complications and could fatal to the nearly one to two percent American pregnancies who suffer from this condition.
Therefore, morning sickness is a condition of pregnancy, which will occur only if triggered by certain causative factors such as the bio-chemical composition of the body as well as the different hormonal levels in the pregnant body and occasionally genetic occurrence.
Week 10 of Pregnancy and Morning Sickness
The final stage of the first trimester of pregnancy commences as it enters the tenth week. This is significant in that the pregnancy is now almost confirmed as the expectant mother has missed two consecutive menstrual periods and is on way to miss the third one. It is a very critical stage of the pregnancy as the fetus grows very rapidly.
Some mothers experience nauseating sensation while others vomit early in the morning or evening or sometimes throughout the day during the first trimester and it normally subsides during this week. This is commonly referred to as “morning sickness”. It is a result of the hormonal changes within the expectant mother’s body. Morning sickness is a good sign as it reduces the possibility of miscarriage. It is advisable for mothers to have 5 to 6 light meals rather than 3 heavy meals to fight off morning sickness and its attendant effects.
The mother experiences fatigue, occasional dizziness and headaches during this period. The mother also suffers from constipation and frequent urination as the uterus enlarges to accommodate the growing fetus and exerts pressure on the bladder. There is swelling and tenderness of breasts due to increased circulation to the milk glands and hormonal changes.
The size of the fetus is about 3 to 4 centimeters CRL (crown to rump length) during week 10 of pregnancy. It is about the size of a kidney bean and weighs about 5 grams. The brain grows at an amazing pace in week 10 producing nearly 250,000 new neurons every minute. The external genitalia are not fully developed. In case of a male child, testosterone is produced in the testes during the tenth week of pregnancy. Majority of the vital organs are in the formative stage in this week.
Tenth week of pregnancy is a landmark period as the tail disappears and development of embryonic heart is completed in this week. The fetal heart beats are audible with the help of a Doppler stethoscope. Tooth and taste buds are formed in this week. Though the hands are legs are not fully formed the toes and fingers are fully separated. Bones of the skeleton are rapidly forming and the eyelids have grown but they remain fused till the end of sixth month.
The blue print of the baby is laid out in the tenth week of pregnancy. The expectant mother goes through a lot of emotional and physical effects due to hormonal changes. It is normal for most mothers to have frequent mood swings and bouts of depression during this stage of pregnancy. Most mothers experience a slight gain in weight. The gums of the teeth are softened and there is a slight swelling of the thyroid glands of the mother.
The tenth week marks the end of the embryonic period and beginning of the fetal period. A quarter of the pregnancy is over and the mother is all set to deliver a healthy baby, who is beginning to appear more human like by the end of the tenth week.
Pregnant Nausea – Causes and Remedies
Nausea and vomiting are perhaps the most popular signs of pregnancy as they have been used to depict expectant mothers in literature, theatre and cinema. About 70% of pregnant women experience nausea or vomiting during pregnancy.
Despite recent advances in medical science, we do not know the exact cause of nausea during pregnancy. The probable causes can be grouped under the following heads:
• Endocrinal – There is a fluctuation in hormone levels of the mother in the first trimester of pregnancy. This is thought to cause change in the contraction and relaxation pattern of muscle fibers of the stomach and intestines resulting in nausea and vomiting. Estrogen, Progesterone, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and serotonin are hormones which are believed to be involved in pregnant nausea. Abnormal levels of thyroid hormones have been reported in mothers who have pregnant nausea.
• Reduction in blood sugar levels can worsen the pregnant nausea.
• Gastrointestinal – Greater number of H.Pylori bacteria are seen inhabiting the intestines of mothers who have vomiting. H.Pylori may cause peptic ulcers and antibiotics are used to treat these conditions.
• Psychological– Some years ago it was believed that pregnant women who complained of nausea and vomiting were trying to throw up the baby as they were not interested in the pregnancy. Thought it sounds a trifle absurd, scientific studies have proven that women suffering from domestic conflict and hailing from dysfunctional families report more nausea and vomiting than mothers who have a peaceful home and work environment.
• Mothers with twins or triplets show elevated levels of HCG hormone which is believed to be responsible for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
• Mothers who have nausea and vomiting from contraceptive pills and migraine tablets.
• Mothers who suffer from motion sickness.
• Family history of hyperemesis gravidarum
Morning sickness is the commonly used term to denote nausea and vomiting during pregnancy although many women experience vomiting during evening, night or sometimes on and off throughout the day. There are certain measures which when adopted by the expectant mother could reduce the severity of morning sickness.
The mother should rest for 15 minutes on waking up and take some crackers before getting down from the bed. The mother should avoid cooking as much as possible as she becomes sensitive to the sight and smells of certain foods which might worsen her condition. She should avoid taking fried foods, fast foods, alcohol, pickles and anything that is spicy. A bland diet taken in the form of 5 to 6 light meals spread throughout the day instead of 3 heavy meals is advised. She should drink plenty of water.
The mother can use ginger tablets or take acupuncture which is believed to relieve morning sickness considerably. Antihistamine and anti emetic may be used on the advise of a doctor if the morning sickness does not subside after taking the above measures.
Nausea and vomiting are expected symptoms of pregnancy and do not warrant immediate medical attention. But if the mother experiences symptoms like fever, diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and dizziness along with vomiting it is advised to rush her to a hospital to exclude any other causes. If the mother has significant weight loss and suffers from dehydration then she is suffering from a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum which requires hospitalization.
Pregnancy and Depression: Understanding it is the First Step to treating it
Pregnancy is that beautiful time in one’s life where you dream a thousand dreams -of the child growing within you and your future with your new born child. But pregnancy itself is never a dream. Each new day brings with it a different set of anxieties and problems in the mother-to-be. This could chiefly be because of the high level of hormonal changes happening within her body.
These hormonal changes alter the chemical composition in her body causing several changes in her, some of which could also cause bouts of depression in her. The general belief is that these depression episodes are routine and normal for pregnant women to go through. However, experts accord that the intensity of the episodes of depression and sometimes even anxiety should determine if the mother-to-be requires additional medical or therapy to overcome it.
What are the symptoms and how is it diagnosed?
If the mother-to-be experiences any of the following situations for more than two weeks, then she may require healthcare services. She may feel very sad or dejected. She may also feel as if things are not fun anymore. She may begin to find that it is very hard to concentrate. There is constant irritability and she may feel it very tough to sleep. On contrary she may experience excessive sleepiness. Fatigue and tiredness could be very high. She experience two extremities of either excessive hunger or an aversion to eating. And the worst moment of depression is the feeling of hopelessness or worthlessness or unnecessary feelings of guilt. It is when this emotion becomes very overpowering that she requires medical attention and help to overcome these depressive bouts.
What is the treatment?
Most young mothers are advised to keep calm and involve themselves in activities that are more engaging and take the mind away from the depressive thoughts. This is more of therapeutic value and will augment the medication cautiously prescribed for such conditions. Psychotherapy is an alternate but in most cases effective therapy to overcome depression during pregnancy. Amongst the various antidepressant medications usually prescribed, the selective serotonin inhibitor should be taken only if it is absolutely necessary. Paxtil is another drug that has to be absolutely avoided.
How to avoid pregnancy depression?
The first thing to be noted here is that whether it is anxiety or depression they are biochemical conditions of the body which cannot be avoided completely. But one could maintain emotional equilibrium to overcome depression during pregnancy. The plan is to keep things as uncomplicated and simple as possible.
The mother-to-be should relax and pursue the less strenuous of routines like catching up on books or taking a walk in the park. She could also enroll in forums or groups for expectant mothers so that she is able to compare notes on her conditions and engage in other activities which are more beneficial to her and the baby. Other avenues she could explore are signing up for yoga or breathing exercise classes which will help during labor.
Depression during pregnancy should be understood both by the to-be-mother as well as her family or care givers. She is herself in a vulnerable position and therefore requires lots of love and care to help her overcome her depression.
Morning Sickness Weeks: Is it continuing Beyond Twelve Weeks?
Clinically morning sickness is called as nausea gravidarum. Sometimes it is also called as emesis gravidarum or NVP. It is most likely to affect more than sixty percent of pregnant women. Nausea generally occurs during the early morning hours and gradually subsides during the day. Nausea could actually cause vomiting or may merely be mild and indicative. Many a times, this may develop into extreme conditions of dehydration and weight loss. This condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum could develop in less than one percent of all pregnancies.
Morning sickness is sometimes the first sign of pregnancy. After about the sixth week of the last menstrual cycle (the day the period started) the first signs of the morning sickness appear. This condition could last almost till the twelfth week of pregnancy. The symptoms that cause morning sickness could include backaches, excessive salivation, exhaustion along with food cravings and increasing frequency in urination. Along with these symptoms there would be increased sense of smell, tenderness in the breast and spasms of cramps in the lower abdomen etc.
If you are prone to acidity prior to pregnancy, the chances are more that morning sickness could be prolonged in your case. There are almost ten to twelve percent of pregnancies where morning sickness has gone beyond the twelfth and well on to the delivery table. There are established examples of pregnant ladies who have vomited all the way into the hospital for delivery.
So, if you are continuing to have morning sickness well beyond the recognized weeks, then you need not worry. It is just that your body is handling the hormonal changes within the body in a different manner as compared to the rest of the pregnant ladies.
A word of precaution though would be needed if you feel you are going through any extremities. If you are throwing up more bile and other food acids then that is perfectly alright. If there is any chance of blood or any other color in the vomit please do rush to the doctor. Sometimes the color of the food that you have eaten could also affect the early morning vomit. Therefore, if there is slight color then do not worry. But if you feel instinctively that it is anything other than the food then it is always prudent to visit the doctor.
One other factor that could be prolonging your morning sickness could be the genetic factor. Though it is not medically proven, it is an established fact that morning sickness follows a genetic pattern in most cases, of course with exceptions. Therefore, if that can be established in your case, then you could seek reassurance that your body is acting according to tradition.
In most cases of prolonged morning sickness, there is no medical treatment adopted. Only if there is severity in that the mother-to-be is becoming dehydrated or that she is not gaining weight, then there is need for medical attention. The doctors would only on a need basis prescribe medication that would suppress the nausea and help the mother-to-be to gain the required weight and provide nourishment to the growing fetus within her.
Morning Sickness Symptoms: What if you do not have any Symptoms?
One of the most beautiful experiences of life is pregnancy. Pregnancy by itself is not a very smooth ride. Consciously or otherwise, you are always monitoring if you are reaching the milestones of pregnancy. One of the first milestones one faces in pregnancy is morning sickness.
As a matter of fact it is morning sickness that will tell you that you are pregnant. It usually starts about the 6th week from the first day of the previous month’s menstrual cycle. It could last right up till the twelfth week or beyond. Morning sickness is an occurrence for about fifty to eighty percent of pregnancies. You could be the lucky few who is unaffected by morning sickness.
Does that mean that not having morning sickness is something to worry about? One of the first things that you will have to understand is that it is equally common for morning sickness not to happen. There are almost fifty percent of women who may not have morning sickness. Some may experience morning sickness in their first pregnancy but may not have such a condition in the consecutive pregnancies. Or they may not have had morning sickness in the first pregnancy but may have developed it during the second and third pregnancy. It is very difficult to predict the occurrence of morning sickness.
The immediate cause of morning sickness is supposed to be the sudden spurt of hormonal changes occurring within the body that could trigger the feeling of nausea. In most of the pregnancies, morning sickness could merely be the nausea or queasiness and need not necessarily be vomiting as such. If you are feeling queasy then that in itself is a sign of morning sickness.
Sometimes there is even a delayed start of morning sickness. There is no time frame that this event has to occur in this week itself. It will depend entirely on your body composition and reaction to the several hormones playing havoc within your body and interfering with your system. A very dominant hormone essential for the growth of the baby would be progesterone. Similarly, hCG is another hormone that is secreted only during the initial three months.
As progesterone has the effect of softening or loosening the body muscles during the pregnancy, the stomach muscles also become very lax and it becomes very difficult to digest food as well as bowel excretion. This will mean that the digested food will remain stagnant for greater periods of time within the stomach. Hence, more food dissolving acids are secreted and the stomach becomes an acid pool. This in turn will trigger indigestion and heartburn and lead to nausea and early morning sickness.
It could be a possibility that your body is able to handle such hormonal activity in a different way and not necessarily as morning sickness. It is most definitely not a worry if you do not have morning sickness. There ample evidences of carrying to full term despite lack of morning sickness. Probably you will have to check with your mother or your grandmother if they had morning sickness or not. If you are not showing any signs of morning sickness, then in all probability, they too would not have the morning sickness or its symptoms. So, rest assured and enjoy a trouble free pregnancy.
Five Effective Morning Sickness Cures
Pregnancy is a very exciting and beautiful period in a woman’s life. But there exist some symptoms that could make these times harder than you had ever imagined and morning sickness is the worst of them all. It usually starts during the first few weeks of pregnancy, continuing till the third month. Some women may suffer the sickness even till the sixth month. Below are some simple morning sickness cures that could relieve you of the troubles.
Eat small meals
Instead of consuming the usual three big meals, eat smaller meals. It is easier on the stomach. Moreover, your stomach never runs empty and you never feel hungry. Big meals could be quite heavy for the stomach during pregnancy and you’re likely to vomit it out. As the phenomenon is fairly frequent, you vomit a lot resulting in your body not getting sufficient food, thereby increasing the feeling of nausea.
Control blood sugar
An abrupt drop in sugar levels could cause vomiting and serious sickness. As you don’t eat anything for hours, sugar levels are particularly low in the morning. You can eat bananas, apples and other fruits that contain sugar. You can also eat protein munchies before going to bed and eat a tiny meal when you get up. You can take tea with crackers, apple juice with toast and cornflakes without milk. Lie on the bed for nearly 15 minutes after eating to enable your stomach digest the food.
Evade strong smells
During pregnancy, women become extra sensitive to smell. A strong smell can easily cause morning sickness. Avoid strong smells of perfumes, cigarette, food, aftershaves and even barbeque. Always try to stay in well ventilated rooms. If nausea strikes suddenly, go outside or to the nearest window and inhale fresh air.
Take lemon
Lemon is often used as morning sickness cure. It can be easily consumed and relieves you of nauseating feeling. Squeeze a slice of lemon and take the juice with warm water. Icy lemonade with a pinch of sugar would be an excellent reliever particularly on hot and humid summer days.
Acupressure
This is an ancient Chinese alternative therapeutic method. Many modern doctors recommend this technique to relieve a victim of morning sickness. Our body has a number of energy points. Tapping on these points, one can relieve oneself of pains, headaches and other symptoms of morning sickness. Though this method is yet to be considered as proven science, many physicians deploy it for relieving post anesthesia sickness as well. It gets rid of the sickness in minutes.
Remember, morning sickness is never a disease and you should never treat its symptoms like one. Though there is no pleasure in frequent vomiting and feeling nauseous all day long, it is nevertheless a normal phase in pregnancy and growth of your baby. The above five methods would undoubtedly help you in relieving morning sickness to a great extent.
B6 for Morning Sickness – An Effective Remedy
Morning sickness is prevalent in almost eighty percent of American pregnancies. There are several reasons for why morning sickness occurs and one of the most accepted theories is that of increased secretion of progesterone loosening the stomach muscles and lowering the rate of bowel movement. This causes higher concentration of stomach acids leading to heartburn and severe nausea. A traditional remedy has been the use of ginger or lemons which help to lower the nausea. Additionally B6 has been a known remedy for controlling morning sickness.
B6 is required by the human body everyday to perform some of the basic metabolic functions. It is also very important for the creation of neurotransmitters, new RBCs or Red Blood Cells, antibodies etc. Therefore it is prescribed during pregnancy, to augment the growing baby’s nervous system. The dosage prescribed is about 2 milligrams per day.
It has also been found that additional dosages of B6 also help in suppressing the nausea, but not the reason why or how it is supposed to decrease the condition. Hence a pregnant women suffering from instances of morning sickness should in consultation with their doctor increase their B6 intake. There are several commercially available B6 supplements that are recommended for intake during pregnancy.
The alternative would be to look for vitamin B6 food sources which will help one to achieve the approximate level of B6 required by the pregnant body. All the legumes like beans are very rich in Vitamin B6. Nuts should form the basic snacking foods. Then lean meat is a definite source of the Vitamin B6. Fish and eggs provide several of the additional vitamins as well.
A question that begins to arise now is that how long can B6 supplements be used during pregnancy to avoid morning sickness, in addition to or along with the food enriched B6 diet. Most practitioners would examine the physical conditions of the patient in defining the period to which the pregnant mother should take the supplements.
Most of the commercial supplements such as the B-natal pops or the B-natal lozenges generally provide immediate relief. This will ease the very tiring and very uncomfortable phase of pregnancy and will help the pregnant mother to provide all her resources in developing the fetus.
As the healthcare provider will provision for a hundred percent Vitamin B6 as prenatal supplements along with a B6 enriched diet, one may require partial increase in the B6 quantities depending on the intensity of the morning sickness. The prescribed requirements of vitamin B6 for pregnant women are about 100 milligrams. Over usage of B6 would result in numbing of the nerves and this would definitely have a side effect on the developing fetus.
About less than 1% of the pregnant American women would develop severe morning sickness which could lead to fatality if the sickness is not treated in time with proper medications. But one should be very careful and always follow the instructions of the practitioner at all times. Over dosage of B6 is never advisable because of the negative impact on the fetus.
