By Ethan Miller
The first thing pregnant women need to realize is that morning sickness is a normal part of pregnancy. There is no reason to worry or become upset. Common knowledge claims that pregnant mothers experience morning sickness for three months. When it goes beyond three months, it can disrupt the mother's work and home life.
Some women can experience it through the entire day, and some woman experience it through their entire pregnancy. This is the result of hormones and not a signal that something is wrong.
The level of morning sickness varies. Some women have very light cases. Others cannot keep water down for longer than a few minutes. In the US, 42 000 women are hospitalized each year.
However, the worse morning sickness is in the early stages of pregnancy, the better outlook for the overall pregnancy. Research shows that women who suffer morning sickness have a reduced level of problems in their pregnancy.
Brigham and Women's Hospital's Miriam Erick created a morning sickness clinic at the hospital and wrote a book to help women manage the symptoms.
"There are a number of women who wind up having it so badly they say, 'This is my first and last child,'" Erick said.
She claims that a jump in estrogen levels heightens a woman's sense of smell. This result, in pregnant women being nauseated by smells, bright lights, noise, and even a drop in barometric pressure that most people do not notice.
"I have women walking around sticking a lemon up their nose, or sometimes I have them put it in a scarf so they can have something they can sniff at if there's bad background smells," she said.
Normally it is a feeling of vomiting and nausea. Ginger tea can help. Not drinking any liquid until you are well into your daily routine may also help.
While there is no way to prevent morning sickness, most women develop a routine that helps them manage it. The important thing to remember is that no two cases are similar. Do not let anyone make you feel sad or depressed because you cannot continue to work, maintain the house, or function normally.
The inability to maintain a normal lifestyle through morning pregnancy is not a sign of weakness. Anyone who tells a pregnant woman different is being emotionally abusive and should be stopped.
One thing that women should never do is listen to people who tell them to ‘suck-it-up', get a backbone, buck up, or grow up. While morning sickness is a normal part of pregnancy, you should make sure your doctor understands the seriousness of your condition. If you do not feel that your doctor is listening, then find help in a mid-wife, or clinic.
Morning sickness can lead to dehydration and malnutrition in women who cannot keep food down, or stop eating in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain. Left untreated, this can cause serious problems for both the fetus and the mother.
The good news is that every pregnancy is different. A woman may suffer from a serious case of morning sickness in one pregnancy and breeze through the next pregnancy with almost no symptoms. |
