Morning Sickness During Pregnancy

Women all over the world fight morning sickness during pregnancy. The symptoms of morning sickness may never appear for some pregnant women while other find they fight them for the duration of the pregnancy. Typically, morning sickness during pregnancy starts in about the 4th week after conception. This is about the time when women miss their first menstrual cycle and often question whether they could be pregnant or not. The most common symptoms of morning sickness during pregnancy are nausea, vomiting and aversion to certain foods.

Nausea and Vomiting

Morning sickness during pregnancy may include nausea, vomiting or both. Many women report feeling sick to their stomach, but never vomit as a result of this feeling. Others tend to vomit from the first few weeks of pregnancy and find they continue to have vomiting throughout the pregnancy. Each pregnancy is different and morning sickness during pregnancy will be different as well. Just because your best friend made it through all 40 weeks without a hint of nausea does not mean you are going to have the same luck.

Aversion to Food

A main cause of morning sickness during pregnancy is aversion to certain foods or scents associated with those foods. Women complain they cannot “stomach” scents of foods they once loved when they are pregnant. This is due to an increase in the sense of smell. As estrogen levels increase so does sensitivity to scents.

Twins and More

We have established that morning sickness during pregnancy is not the same for everyone, but singlet mothers tend to report the same symptoms, on average. Women who are pregnant with twins (or more) may have an even harder time with morning sickness during pregnancy. More babies in the uterus means more estrogen causing slower digestion and increased nausea. Later in pregnancy when the multiple fetuses have pushed the stomach upward in the abdominal cavity, pressure can cause acid reflux and severe nausea not associated with morning sickness during pregnancy.

Severe Morning Sickness During Pregnancy

While cases of severe morning sickness during pregnancy are few and far between, some women find they cannot keep down water, let own solid food for a few weeks or months. Severe morning sickness can progress to a medical condition called hyperemesis gravidarum. If this is the case, the obstetrician will work with the expecting woman to treat the symptoms in a safe and effective manner. Some treatments may include prescription medications to stop nausea long enough for a pregnant woman to keep down food for better health and to supply nutrition to the fetus.

Occasionally, pregnant women with hyperemesis may have to be admitted to the hospital for treatment and hydration.

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By: Amos Grunebaum, MD

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Amos Grunebaum M.D. is a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist in one of the top 10 hospitals in the United States. In addition to providing pregnant women researched information on pregnancy at BabyMed.com, Amos specializes in symptoms of pregnancy like morning sickness.