Home
About us
Facilities Available
Consultants
Location Map
Download Map
Cashless Admissions
Guidelines for patients
Credits & Disclaimer
Contact us

Specialities

ENT
Gynaecology
Keyhole surgeries
Ophthalmology
Paediatrics
Infertility
Pregnancy
Delivery
Breastfeeding
Laparoscopy Pictures

All your pregnancy questions answered

Morning sickness in your pregnancy

Morning sickness is also known as nausea and vomiting in pregnancy [NVP] and affects more than 50% of pregnant women. The cause is not completely understood but may be related to hormonal changes, increased sensitivity to smells, delayed stomach emptying time etc. It starts usually from your 6th week or so and often does not last longer than your 12th to 14th week.

What is the cause of morning sickness?

One of the theories is that morning sickness is caused by the dominant hormone during pregnancy, progesterone. Progesterone has a "softening" effect on the muscles in the body. It is thought it helps prevent preterm labor by effecting the uterine muscles. It also effects other muscles, such as the stomach and intestines. The progesterone relaxes the workings of the whole digestive track which makes the elimination of bodily wastes slower which can lead to a slow emptying of the stomach which leads to excess stomach acids.

Another theory, and more widely accepted, is that morning sickness is caused by the buildup of HCG (human chorionic gonadotopin) in your system. HCG is produced after implantation takes place and continues to increase until about the 12th week of your pregnancy, at which point the levels of HCG starts to decrease. If you are lucky, this is when your morning sickness symptoms will start to decrease as well.

Morning sickness isn't all bad though. Recent studies have suggested that mothers who have morning sickness have fewer miscarriages so there IS a bright spot in the midst of your morning, or in come cases, all day miseries.
 

What can you do about your nausea?

You could try the following to reduce the discomfort that you are feeling:

• Eat small and frequent meals

• Avoid foods with strong smells

• Do not skip a meal

• Avoid greasy or spicy foods as they often cause nausea or heartburn

• Eat what you want when you want it. Your cravings will not make you eat the wrong food. At this stage of your pregnancy your baby does not need much and you should not worry about eating the 'right' or 'healthy' foods

• Keep some dry 'Marie' biscuits at your bedside, and have 2 every morning [dry] as soon as you are awake before you even get out of your bed. Wait 15 minutes and then get up to brush your teeth

• Drink plenty of fluids between your meals and avoid too much water with your meals

• Avoid taking iron supplements till your sickness has settled down

• Avoid going into your kitchen when items with a strong odour are being cooked

• carry a handkerchief with a few drops of eucalyptus oil in it and breath through it if you can't get away from the smell that is bothering you.

• If possible try to get help for cooking as you could then reduce your time in the kitchen

• If it gets very bad contact your doctor and he will be able to prescribe some safe medication that you could take

If your sickness is very bad

If you have very bad vomiting, or you have blood in your vomitus, or you get exhausted then your doctor may decide to admit you for a day or two. He will rehydrate you with fluid, give you injections to control the vomiting [tablets are then of no use as you may not be able to retain a tablet long enough for it to have action], and he will test your urine for 'ketones'. This presence of ketones in your urine is an indication that you will need plenty of rehydration.

You could read more here http://www.morningsicknesshelp.com/index.html