Pregnancy Sickness

Ads

Pregnancy sickness

Does the smell of prawns have you running to the loo? Does your stomach churn every time you think of fried eggs? You may be suffering from pregnancy sickness.

It should get better...

It's important to realise that 'morning sickness' can occur at any time of the day, although early morning is a common time. It's not unusual for a woman in early pregnancy to wake up feeling sick.

Feeling ill can start before you miss your first period, but it tends to get better over time and it's typical to feel much better after three months. Not everyone is so lucky, however: a very small number experience it throughout pregnancy.

It's believed that pregnancy hormones cause the sickness. These circulate in the body, affecting all your organs and preparing your body to sustain new life. One of the effects is nausea. While it's a nuisance, and at worst a severely uncomfortable condition that can lead to undernourishment and constant tiredness and weakness, there could be a good reason for it to happen.

Is Mother Nature intervening?

One theory is that your body's protecting the foetus from harmful substances. Women who suffer bad sickness, including vomiting, are less likely to miscarry, and the sickness generally stops when the growing baby's major organs have developed.

Another theory is that the body's 'starving' the mother, so more nutrients go into the development of the placenta, giving the baby a better chance of being well-nourished later on.

Help yourself feel better

Small, frequent snacks can help alleviate your symptoms. Avoid large meals, especially those high in fat, as they'll put a greater strain on your digestive system.

Don't let your stomach remain empty for more than a couple of hours. Have a dry crispbread, cracker or piece of plain toast to keep your system 'ticking over'.

Keep dry crackers by your bed and eat one or two before getting up in the morning. If you wake in the night, have a small snack to help prevent sickness in the morning.
Fruit or savoury foods seem to be better at preventing nausea than sweeter snacks.
Go with any cravings you have (within reason).

Ginger has been shown to help relieve sickness. It's safe to use in pregnancy and you can take it in several forms. Try ginger tea, ginger ale or ginger biscuits. Some women find that acupressure bands help.

Ask your doctor or midwife for other tips. You should seek help if your sickness is affecting your overall health, if you find you can hardly keep food or drinks down, or if you become extremely tired. Extreme pregnancy sickness, or hyperemesis gravidarum, might even mean a hospital stay to allow you to maintain fluid levels and prevent dehydration. Drug treatment is available in some cases. Pregnancy sickness, even severe sickness, is not associated with any harm to your baby.

Similar of Pregnancy Sickness