Morning Sickness: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Side Effects and how to avoid it

Morning sickness is a common condition for pregnant women which is a result of the increased hormones in your body. More than 50% of pregnant women experience morning sickness.

It usually begins around the 6th week of pregnancy. It can occur at any time of the day, and for most women.

Morning sickness is not harmful for the individual or the baby, but if the individual experiences excessive vomiting and cannot manage to keep her food down, she may have hyperemesis gravidarum.

It refers to the nauseous feeling you may have during the first trimester of pregnancy.

It seems to stop after the 12th week of pregnancy which means it lasts nearly 6 weeks.

The symptoms of morning sickness are feeling nauseated when you eat something, abnormal weight loss, dizziness and spotting or bleeding. The morning sickness starts to occur usually after four to five months of pregnancy. Morning sickness also results in frequent mood swings and too much of stress on the mother is harmful for the mother as well as the baby.

The most common cause for morning sickness is due to the low blood sugar levels in a pregnant woman and other factors such as having twins/triplets, fatigue, stress and sporadic travelling can increase your chances for a severe morning sickness condition.

Morning sickness can be easily treated with the correct diet and medication. The woman needs to adhere to her doctor's recommendation by all means in order to keep herself and her baby healthy. Medications and supplements help to elevate the low levels of nutrients in the body that causes morning sickness and also helps to eliminate the possibility of feeling nauseated when you try to eat something. Morning sickness results in mood swings and discomfort hence the individuals who are looking after the pregnant woman should be considerate and try not to react to her discomfort.

You should have a medical expert ready at all times in case the symptoms of the morning sickness worsen. Morning sickness usually do not require special treatment as it is a common mode of side effect during the time of pregnancies. You should take frequent naps, drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration and keep the home atmosphere pleasant as stress is very harmful for the mother and the baby as well. Positively maintain a balanced and healthy diet and try to avoid fatty foods. Nausea is a common symptom of morning sickness hence keep your home properly ventilated at all times and try to comfort the mother as much as possible.

Morning sickness has many side effects which include nausea, headaches, blacking out, loose motions, back pains, restlessness, breathlessness, excessive sweating and other side effects.

Morning sickness differs from individual to individual. Some women do not have morning sickness at all while some have it for a few weeks or months, at the start of their pregnancy. Regular medication should alleviate the symptoms for morning sickness within a month.

Since morning sickness can be healed with medication, the price for its treatment in India ranges from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1,500.

The results of the treatment are semi permanent as it varies from individual to individual. In most cases, women can treat their morning sickness in a month whereas some have it all throughout their 8 or 9 months of pregnancy.