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Nausea, vomiting, hot flushes, weakness and dizzy spells.... Mother or not, most people would have at some stage in their lives heard of the dreaded and inevitable ‘morning sickness’.
 
Morning sickness - the sickness and nausea associated with the first trimester of pregnancy, is exhausting and is brought on by pregnancy hormones.  It usually starts around weeks 4 to 6 and typically lasts around 8 to 12 weeks.  Morning sickness is very common in the early stages of pregnancy and is experienced by around 70% of women.

Whilst in most cases all signs of morning sickness will have disappeared by the second trimester, for some women the symptoms can be felt from as early as a couple of days after conception right through to the third trimester.  Some women, including a good friend of mine Glenda, can even experience symptoms throughout the whole pregnancy, including during labour.

Whilst most people believe that morning sickness is only felt in the mornings, many women find out sooner rather than later, that the ‘morning’ part of this pregnancy symptom is in namesake only, and that morning sickness can and does last morning, noon and night. Though is usually the worst in the early part of the day, which is where the name originally came from.

The severity of morning sickness symptoms varies from person to person.  Some women are lucky enough to only experience mild symptoms of morning sickness, that only last a week or two, or an odd day here or there, some will be sick enough to need hospitalisation (hyperemesis), whilst others will be blessed with no symptoms at.  

For me – I must say that morning sickness was one of the most difficult and draining parts of my whole pregnancy and the one thing that really turns me off having another baby.  I didn’t have it easy during the first part of my pregnancy and had my first taste of this nasty pregnancy symptom, only 24 hours after conceiving, when after having hot flushes and feeling like I was going to throw up, fainted on my way to the bathroom.  

For the 16 weeks following this day, I experienced terrible nausea, vomiting, dry reaching, dizziness, weakness and fainting spells, and remember spending more than one day curled up on the couch crying wondering how I was going to keep working, running a house and basically living my life for the next 7 months whilst feeling like this.  It was a really tough time, both physically, and emotionally.

Whilst friends told me they didn’t get morning sickness at all, or only had it for a few weeks, mine just kept going and going past the promised 12 week cut off mark.  At one point I thought I would have it for the whole nine months, but around week 15 it started reducing in intensity and began moving from 10 hours a day, to a few hours a day, to an hour or two every second day, and by week 17 had mostly disappeared.

Whilst most of the symptoms did dissipate by week 17, I did have the odd day or hour during the second and third trimester when the old nausea reared its ugly ahead again.  And believe me; I was never happy to see it.

So whilst morning sickness is inevitable for most of us, there are a few things you can do to try and live with it, and the good news is, that the sicker you feel, the healthier your baby is, and the stronger the pregnancy.

So other than curling up in a ball, moaning and groaning and feeling sorry for yourself for 3 months what can you do to get through the day?

Ways to help morning sickness

Try to eat small and regular meals or snacks throughout the day (5-6 times a day), this helps regulate your blood sugar and prevents you from overfilling your stomach;

Try to eat something light before you go to bed, like a biscuit or piece of toast, and have something light upon rising, like a glass of milk or a piece of fruit toast;

Carry snacks with you to munch on during the day. Try dry crackers, biscuits, nuts and dried fruits;

Take ginger capsules or drink ginger beer, ginger powder in boiling water (like tea) or suck on ginger lollies;

Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly;

Try taking vitamin B6 tablets;

Eat complex carbs such as potato, bread, toast, rice, pasta and crackers (just don’t get silly, you don’t want to put on too much weight in the early days);

Have your food and drinks separately, i.e. not at the same meal, but make sure you keep your fluids up;

Drink milk;

Sip on slightly flattened lemonade;

Take ant-acid tablets;

Wear acupressure wrist bands, sold in chemists as sea sickness bands (around $10);

Try to relax and reduce your stress;

Rest as much as possible, and lie down with your feet up whenever you can;

Try to eat a healthy diet, even though you feel really sick you will probably still feel like you are starving most of the time and will probably still gobble up your food in between the waves of nausea – strange but true;

Avoid food and smells that make you feel nauseous including strong chemicals and odours – if need be trying burning some essential oils to mask any nasty or offending smells around the home or workplace;

And if all else fails, curl up in a ball and feel sorry for yourself.... No! Of course it won’t reduce your symptoms, but hey, you are pregnant, you are not only expected to do this but are entitled to it....

Alternative therapies

Some women find alternative therapies such as hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture and aromatherapy helpful, though it is important to discuss any alternative therapies with your doctor as some herbs and essential oils can harm your baby.
When pregnant it is always best to be safe rather than sorry.

What if you can’t eat at all?

If your nausea is so bad that you can’t eat, or keep anything down, it is important to keep your fluid intake up.  And if possible, take a multi vitamin.  Drinks such as lucozade and sports drinks with electrolytes can be beneficial.

If your inability to eat becomes prolonged make sure you see your Doctor.  Whilst losing a kilo or two in the early days won’t harm you or your baby too much, it is important that your weight loss is not ongoing, as your baby needs nutrients to grow, and you need the strength to keep the both of you going.

Hyperemesis

Hyperemesis is a condition characterised by excessive vomiting, dehydration and the loss of more than 5% of the mother’s pre pregnancy weight.  Whilst hyperemesis is uncommon and usually only affects about 3% of pregnancies, it is a serious problem that quite often leads to hospitalisation and can sometimes require ongoing treatment and support.  

The usually treatment for this condition is either medication to help reduce the nausea and vomiting or hospitalisation.  When hospitalisation is recommended, it usually involves bed rest and the installation of an intravenous drip to replace water, electrodes and sugar into the mother’s blood stream, as well as administering anti nausea medication.  Some women may only be admitted once, whilst others may end up visiting the hospital multiple times and for days at a time.

Are my symptoms normal? This just doesn’t feel right!

Whilst all women and all pregnancies are different, if at any stage you feel that your symptoms are prolonged or excessively severe see your medical practitioner as soon as possible.  There is never a more important time in your life to just play it safe.

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