Morning sickness

Morning sickness describes the symptoms of nausea and vomiting during early pregnancy and can occur at any time of day. Causes of morning sickness may be related to increased levels of oestrogen that slows the emptying of the stomach and heightens sense of smell. Evolution may cause the symptoms as a way to prevent food poisoning as mothers tend to be put off foods that risk contamination (poultry, meat, eggs) preferring to eat low risk dried foods instead.

In This Article

Did you know?	Causes of morning sickness
Symptoms of morning sickness	Diagnosis of morning sickness
Related Terms

Did you know?

80-90% of pregnant women experience morning sickness
4 in 1000 pregnant women will vomit so forcefully that they lose weight
28% of pregnant women will experience nausea without vomiting

Causes of morning sickness

The causes of morning sickness, also known as nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), remain unclear but experts have a number of theories which may explain the condition.

The common theories include:

Hormonal changes – during the first trimester (three months) of pregnancy, the hormone called 'oestrogen' rises which may trigger nausea and vomiting. The hormone heightens the sense of smell which explains why many women find that certain smells will trigger symptoms.

Adaptation – many scientists believe that evolutionary adaptation (or the change an organism makes to adapt to its environment) is the cause of morning sickness as the woman tries to protect the baby from food poisoning.

A common complaint during early pregnancy is that certain foods are off-putting, particularly those foods that can be easily contaminated such as meat, poultry and dairy products. The preference is for foods which have a low contamination risk such as dry foods (bread, cereals etc.).

Symptoms of morning sickness

The symptoms of morning sickness are nausea and vomiting which can occur at any time of the day. Some women will also experience fatigue, dehydration and weight loss if vomiting is severe.

Symptoms usually begin before the ninth week of pregnancy and in most cases resolve themselves by the fourth month.

Diagnosis of morning sickness

Morning sickness is a common condition for pregnant women and the symptoms alone are enough to make a self-diagnosis without the need for a GP visit. However, if you're experiencing severe vomiting then you should book a GP appointment particularly if you also have any of the following:

Dark coloured urine
Inability to pass urine for more than eight hours
Abdominal pain
Fever
Weakness
Feeling faint
Persistent vomiting
Inability to keep food or liquids down for 24 hours

Your GP may test your urine to check for ketones which the body is forced to use to break down fat for energy. High levels indicate that vomiting is causing malnourishment and you will require medication and extra nutrients.

Related Terms

NVP
Pregnant
Birth
Sick
Senses
Ketones
Cravings

Therapies to consider

Baby Massage	Herbal Medicine	Nutrition
Pregnancy Massage

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