Pregnancy nausea or morning sickness as it is often called
affects up to 80% of women during their term, but it is very variable in
both its severity and timing. A woman may get little or no hint that
she is pregnant until she gets feelings of nausea, commonly about the
fourth week, although pregnancy nausea can start as early as the second
week. The fourth to sixth week of the pregnancy would equate to between
five and seven weeks after the end of the last menstrual period.
Pregnancy nausea, with or without vomiting will last for several weeks,
normally petering out between the 12th and 14th week.
Not all mothers-to-be will experience significant morning sickness or nausea at all. It is reckoned to be due to a build up of human chorionic gonadotrophin and oestrogen as the levels of these hormones falling also coincide with the ceasing of nausea at about the 12th week of pregnancy.
Pregnancy nausea is inconvenient to say the least, but is often not bad enough to disrupt normal everyday life too much. There are ways to reduce the amount and severity of nausea and sickness during pregnancy and these are as follows:
Pregnancy nausea usually ceases by about the fourth month but can sometimes reappear much later in pregnancy due to the increased size of the baby causing pressure on the intestines or stomach. This may be a continuing problem as the baby goes on growing, and may require the mother to take longer periods of rest or take up certain resting positions to minimise discomfort.
Knowing when nausea is likely to occur and how to deal with it should give you the confidence to look forward to the day when the baby is in your arms without too much fear in the run up period.
Not all mothers-to-be will experience significant morning sickness or nausea at all. It is reckoned to be due to a build up of human chorionic gonadotrophin and oestrogen as the levels of these hormones falling also coincide with the ceasing of nausea at about the 12th week of pregnancy.
Pregnancy nausea is inconvenient to say the least, but is often not bad enough to disrupt normal everyday life too much. There are ways to reduce the amount and severity of nausea and sickness during pregnancy and these are as follows:
- Keep to bland foods as you may find that anything too rich, spicy or fatty will set off a feeling of nausea.
- Have a bite of a dry cracker or salty biscuit first thing on waking in the morning to ward off that first bout of nausea.
- Eat small light meals every two to three hours through the day to keep blood sugar levels up.
- Drink plenty of fluids, preferably not caffeinated drinks.
- Get plenty of sleep at night plus some rest during the day.
- Avoid smells that tend to make you feel ill. These can be smells that would not have normally upset you before, such as food cooking.
- Use ginger as biscuits, tea, or candied peel, or even grate raw ginger on to cereal as a means of combating nausea. This works for many but not all women.
- Make yourself busy - the more you think about a problem the worse it can seem.
- Wear clothes that are not too tight around your middle.
- Try soothing music or specially formatted CDs that are now available to calm and relax.
Pregnancy nausea usually ceases by about the fourth month but can sometimes reappear much later in pregnancy due to the increased size of the baby causing pressure on the intestines or stomach. This may be a continuing problem as the baby goes on growing, and may require the mother to take longer periods of rest or take up certain resting positions to minimise discomfort.
Knowing when nausea is likely to occur and how to deal with it should give you the confidence to look forward to the day when the baby is in your arms without too much fear in the run up period.
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