During pregnancy, some women may experience vomiting and nausea. This is commonly known as morning sickness. It is most usual to females in the first 3 months, but it can happen at any time during a conception. While diet and lifestyle changes may reduce the symptoms, at times over-the-counter medicines also help. Beginning at 14 weeks or second trimester of pregnancy, the morning sickness symptoms may fade away.
Morning Sickness – When Does it Start and How Long It Lasts?
Let us understand does morning sickness come and go during early pregnancy or it particularly ceases at any phase of a conception.
- Unlike its name, morning sickness does not necessarily occur during the day time. It can happen at any time during 24 hours.
- It may start as early as the 6th pregnancy week. Most may experience the symptoms before 9th pregnancy week.
- Nausea and vomiting episodes usually worsen around 8 to 10 weeks of conception but this depends from a person to another.
- Usually after the 13th week of pregnancy, or as the first trimester ends – morning sickness can decline with symptoms sometimes lingering for week 14 to 27 in conception.
- It is rare for morning sickness to last until the end of a pregnancy, but it is not unheard of.
How Often Does Morning Sickness Occur?
Morning sickness can occur once or twice a day for a short time every day. However, in worsened scenarios, the symptoms may occur four times or more per day with each episode lasting for several hours. Severe morning sickness is often known as This is a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum.
Symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum are losing 10 pounds of weight or more, severe dehydration, and vomiting more than three times a day. Those with this condition may need hydration via IV fluids along with administering some medicines to combat nausea.
While physical examination and discussing the symptoms faced by the pregnant person is sufficient to confirm morning sickness, in case of hyperemesis gravidarum – additional blood or urine tests could be recommended to detect further.
Symptoms and Causes of Morning Sickness
Know the common morning sickness signs and causes:
- The morning sickness signs include vomiting, appetite loss, vomiting, hunger hangs, feeling of something being stuck in the throat, seasickness, reflex or heartburn.
- Morning sickness causes are metabolism changes, fluctuations in blood pressure, elevated levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) or estrogen, or low blood sugar.
- The trigger factors that further make morning sickness are exhaustion, anxiety, stress, heat or warm weather, smelling or eating some foods.
Triggers and Risk Factors of Morning Sickness
Some women are more vulnerable to morning sickness, and here are the instances where the risks to the condition increase:
- If the woman is overweight with a BMI less than 30 but over 25.
- If the person has a history of migraines and motion sickness.
- If the individual is pregnant with more than one child, such as twins, triplets, or more.
- If one is anxious or stressed, work night shifts, live in a place prone to a hot climate, and lacks quality sleep.
- If the female has abnormal cell growth in the uterus, a medical condition known as trophoblastic disease.
- If there is a history of morning sickness in earlier pregnancies for the person, or a biological parent or sibling has had this issue during their conception.
Medicines to Treat Morning Sickness
If you are wondering does morning sickness come and go anytime of the day, yes, it does. Thankfully, medicines and supplements can prevent or manage this problem:
- Vitamin B6 available as Doxylamine or Pyridoxine can treat morning sickness. Both the medicines are over-the-counter products. Doxylamine is also efficient in treating certain allergies, hay fever, and used as a sleeping aid.
- You may take anticholinergics or antihistamines to deal with the signs of morning weakness. However, antiemetics are also an available alternative.
- Then you have a slow-release single pill, Diclegis®. It reduces gag reflex caused during morning sickness.
Dietary Changes to Cope Up With Morning Sickness
Here are the dietary modifications to deal with morning sickness:
- Eat small meals at intervals rather than three large meals. At the same time, do not skip meals. You may switch to bland foods rather than fatty and spicy foods.
- Drink plenty of water and healthy fluids to get over water loss from vomiting. Limit or avoid caffeinated drinks.
- Protein-rich and nutritious snacks between meals can help counter morning sickness. You can also depend on nuts, yogurt, celery, apples slices, or cheese to help bad taste go away from the mouth.
- To stabilize digestion and gut health, in the morning, you can start with a few crackers. This will help reduce belching and nausea.
- If you are away from home, do not go empty stomach. Keep backup snacks with you to eat if you feel hungry.
- Foods such as dry toast, bananas, rice, broth, plain baked potato, applesauce are great options to add to your diet.
Healthy Lifestyle to Manage Morning Sickness
Following simple lifestyle changes during pregnancy can keep away morning sickness or at least reduce its severity:
- Get plenty of rest, especially avoid physically tiring tasks and mental stress. Sleep enough and maintain a regular sleep pattern.
- When using prenatal vitamins, make sure you eat something, even if it is a snack, beforehand. If the supplement contains iron, you may take it before going to bed.
- Scents with a fragrance note of mind, orange, and lemon can help reduce the feeling of nausea. Avoid odors that trigger vomiting. Similarly, keep the surroundings aromatic to uplift mood, which has a great positive effect on overall wellness.
- If you vomit, wash your mouth well thereafter to prevent the acid in the vomit from affecting your oral health and teeth condition.
- Well-ventilated areas reduce the feeling of suffocation and in turn fight off morning sickness. You can also grab some fresh air to manage nausea.
- Avoid lying down immediately after meals or eating something. This can bloat your stomach and worsen vomiting symptoms.
To Conclude
If you still aren’t sure about does morning sickness come and go – then let’s clear the air that – the frequency of symptoms differs from one person to another, and so does the duration of how long morning sickness would stay in a pregnancy.
If you are pregnant or planning to conceive, you may get a pre-assessment for health to know if there are any contraindications or risks for you to experience morning sickness, and manage your well-being as per the doctor’s guidelines.
