Morning Sickness...more like ALL day sickness

Written By: Audrey Luck, Tree of Life's newest midwife

            Morning sickness is commonly known as nausea and/or vomiting in pregnancy. This is a normal and common occurrence in pregnancy.  It usually starts around 6 weeks of pregnancy, but it can begin as early as 4 weeks. It tends to get worse over the next month or so and disappears around 

12-14 weeks. 

           

            The exact cause of morning sickness is not known for sure. It is believed that rising hormones, Human Chorionic Gonadatropin (HCG), Progesterone, and Estrogen, are the primary suspect. They can increase a woman’s sense of smell and cause sensitive stomachs. For some pregnant women, the symptoms are worse in the morning and ease up over the course of the day, but they can strike at any time and last all day long. Because of this eating can be a challenge.

           

            The initial surge of morning sickness may be hormone induced but the lack of eating because of it perpetuates the condition. Nausea is also a common symptom of low glucose, sugar, in the body. Thus, you have the vicious morning sickness cycle that last ALL day.

           

            Here are some recommendations that you may find to be helpful in reducing your symptoms. First off, do NOT skip meals and snacks. Increasing or spreading out your food intake minimizes the highs and lows of sugar levels in turn minimizing nausea due to low blood sugar. Aim for eating 5-6 small meals/snacks daily (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner,...snack), but remember the caloric demand in pregnancy is 300 extra calories to you normal non-pregnant caloric demand.

           

            Secondly, make all snacks and meal include protein and complex carbohydrates (ie. whole grains, certain fruits, vegetables, and legumes). When you eat  complex carbohydrates, they get converted to glycogen and are used immediately for energy, providing a steady dose of blood sugar or they are stored in the muscles and liver for energy at a later time. Simple carbs, by contrast, cause a spike in blood sugar that quickly dissipates resulting in nausea. Regarding protein in pregnancy, women should eat 60 – 80 grams of protein. Protein are the building blocks for all muscle cells in the body.

           

            A few other helpful recommendations are: sucking on lemon candies, drinking ginger tea or eating ginger candy, snacking on dry foods like crackers, and trying to reduce stress. Believe it or not, stress has been discovered to play a component in nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.

           

            Morning sickness can be an annoyance at times but it is a reassuring sign of pregnancy. Just remember it does not last for ever. Discuss your morning sickness with your health care provider. If you hold more that 50% of your daily intake you may need medication.