Everyone is excited to finally find out that they are having a baby and can’t wait to break this news to their family. But how did you find out you were pregnant? Aside from the obvious symptoms, morning sickness is a sign that your baby is on the way. Have you ever wondered what morning sickness is and why it happens? And is it really just morning sickness? Let’s find out.
When you’re pregnant, your body goes through a lot of changes, and some of these changes are due to certain hormones working full shifts, like hCG. human chorionic gonadotropin and estrogen. Your body produces these hormones in significant amounts as the placenta has achieved proper growth and has the ability to transfer nutrition from the baby to the womb.
Morning sickness usually begins during the 5th or 6th week of pregnancy, but this is not necessary in all cases. Some women start to feel morning sickness from the fifth week of pregnancy.
Although it occurs in the mornings, hence the name morning sickness, in some cases vomiting can occur at any time of the day or even throughout the day. At first, anything that made you nauseous before pregnancy can easily cause you to vomit. A smell that didn’t suit you, seeing something you don’t usually like, etc.
The extreme form of morning sickness is called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). If your nausea lasts all day and you end up getting sick multiple times throughout the day, unable to eat or drink, then you may very well have HG.
HG can cause dehydration and weight loss. Seek help from your doctor as soon as possible.
In most cases, HG will end when you are about 20 weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, for some women, it doesn’t completely go away until late in the pregnancy.
So what causes hyperemesis gravidarum? And is there any risk involved? Should you be worried?
Although the exact cause of HG is unknown, a number of factors are likely involved, including hormonal changes. Some women are more likely to get HG than others. Most likely, yes,
- You are expecting your first child
- You are expecting a girl or twins/triplets
- The women in your family had HG during their pregnancies
- She suffered HG in her last pregnancy
- You are prone to dizziness or migraines.
- You had weight problems during pregnancy.
Although morning sickness or HG can make you miserable, it’s a good sign. It means that the hormone levels in your body are high, protecting your pregnancy. Rest assured, the worst should be over by week 16. It is highly unlikely that your baby will be harmed. Without effective treatment, there is a risk that your baby will be smaller than average at birth. But it is unlikely that your baby will be affected in this way.
Try not to worry about eating a balanced diet, especially if you can’t keep anything down at this stage. Your baby can take back the nutrients from it later in your pregnancy when you feel better.
There are steps you can take to help lessen and cope with the symptoms of HG:
- See your doctor early on and explain how bad you feel and that you would like treatment.
- Seek your partner’s help with basic household chores like shopping, cooking, cleaning. Have family and friends come and care for your firstborn whenever possible.
- If you have a history of nausea from certain foods and smells, it’s best to avoid them as much as possible during pregnancy, as the slightest sight or smell can trigger nausea syndrome in you. If cooking odors make you sick, try eating only cold foods.
- Drink water regularly in small sips that will keep your body hydrated at all times. You can also try sucking on ice cubes as that can also help in such situations.
- It is important to continue to eat regularly, even in small amounts, whenever you can. You can catch up on good nutrition later, as your baby will draw on her body’s stores.
- Get all you can. Tiredness can make nausea and vomiting worse.
Don’t feel guilty about how you feel. You are sick and it is not at all your fault.