Five causes of morning sickness you should know

Morning sickness is the nausea and throwing up associated with pregnancy. It’s a condition that can strike at any time of the day despite its name.

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Generally, most pregnant women experience this during the first trimester but in other cases, it could still continue until birth.

Up to date, arguments and theories about the main cause of morning sickness are still rampant. And it’s for this reason that more research still needs to be carried out in order to identify the leading causes.

That being said, we still have many hypotheses about the causes as well as factors that can worsen your morning sickness.

Here are some that we know of

1. Hormones

Hormones generally get the blame for every negative effects associated with pregnancies so this isn’t an exception. The relationship between morning sickness and hormones such as Human Chorionic Gonadotropin or HCG and progesterone, is still being researched on. Nonetheless, experts say that there could be a link between morning sickness and increased levels of pregnancy hormones, especially during the first trimester.

2. Prevention of toxins

In general, the body might be triggered to vomit in order to remove certain toxins from the body. In pregnancy, something similar happens. Recent studies and hypotheses suggest that the main cause of morning sickness is for the protection of the fetus from toxins. If at any point the mother consumes foods or drinks that have some toxins, the body reacts by eliminating them so that the baby is well protected. Since it mostly occurs in the first trimester, it could be a possibility that the body is trying to protect the fetus during the most crucial stages of development.

3. Food triggers

This is one of the factors that trigger and make morning sickness worse. During the first trimester, pregnant women realize that their sense of smell and taste is altered a bit. Your favorite foods become unbearable and make you want to throw up immediately. For this reason, pregnant women end up avoiding foods and scents that trigger morning sickness.

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4. Physical stress

Expectant mothers are always told to watch what they do and limit themselves from doing too many things. You might want to clean the whole house, go to the gym, run errands, pick the kids from school, run back home, cook dinner and add many other activities to your list. In real sense, doing too much makes you exhausted and this also triggers morning sickness.

5. Emotional stress

Being in a state of emotional stress all the time is considered one of the common triggers of morning sickness. What you think and how you feel also has an impact on your body. So when you are stressed, anxious and constantly on edge, it starts to affect your baby’s development and can potentially cause you to have bouts of nausea and vomiting.

So how can you reduce morning sickness?

There are many things that can help you reduce instances where you’re quickly dashing to the bathroom unexpectedly.

If it’s a severe case where you can barely hold any food in, you should see your doctor who will prescribe some pregnancy friendly medications.

Other times, you should try to eat small meals throughout the day rather than stomaching one big meal. This will help ease the nausea as well.

You should also rest more and avoid trying to do it all. Take some time off to take care of your psychological wellbeing for your own sake and your unborn child’s sake.

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And what are the abnormal signs of morning sickness you may ask?

It’s normal to experience some nausea and vomiting especially in the first weeks of your pregnancy. In some instances though, the signs accompanied could be a sign of some complication. If you experience severe weight loss, fevers, bloody vomit and urine along with severe nausea, you need to visit your doctor urgently.

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