Find out what causes morning sickness and what you can do to help manage it.
Facts:
- You are more likely to experience morning sickness if you are pregnant with more than one baby.
- Morning sickness includes nausea, queasiness and/or vomiting.
- More than 2/3 of pregnant women experience some type of morning sickness.
- Morning sickness can occur at any time of day.
- Some researchers believe morning sickness is caused by a rise in hormone levels.
- Nausea and vomiting usually begin around the 6th week of pregnancy. For 80% of sufferers, this condition stops around the 12th week of pregnancy although queasiness can come and go throughout pregnancy. The remaining 20% will suffer from nausea and vomiting for a longer period of time.
- Call your doctor if your nausea or vomiting is severe, if you can't keep fluids down, have a small amount of dark urine, are dizzy or faint, have a racing heart beat, or are vomiting blood.
How to cope with your morning sickness:
- Keep crackers by the bed, so you can eat some before you get up.
- Get out of bed slowly.
- Eat small meals and snacks frequently throughout the day.
- Avoid an empty stomach. Try not to skip meals.
- Drink small amounts of fluids frequently during the day.
- Avoid drinking fluids during meals and immediately before or after a meal.
- Avoid odours that bother you.
- Try eating cold food instead of hot (cold food may not smell as strong as hot food)
- If you're nauseous, try crackers, toast, applesauce or bananas.
- Try sipping on bubbly or sweet cold drinks.
- Ginger supplements (250 mg ginger powder as capsules, 4 times daily) may help.
- Get plenty of rest since nausea tends to worsen when you are tired.
