Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

morning sickness

 
Dictionary: morning sickness
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary

n.
Nausea and vomiting upon rising in the morning, especially during early pregnancy.


Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

World of the Body: morning sickness
Top
Home > Library > Health > World of the Body

Almost three-quarters of women are troubled by nausea and/or vomiting in early pregnancy. This usually stops at around 14 weeks of pregnancy and the cause is attributed to human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone produced in large amounts by the placenta early in pregnancy. Nausea is more troublesome in multiple pregnancies and where there is overgrowth of the placenta (hydatifidiform mole). Occasionally, nausea and vomiting may be so severe (hyperemesis gravidarum) that care in hospital proves necessary. The Greek physician, Soranus, described accurately the time-span of morning sickness in the second century ad and he advised giving ‘little and easily digestible food, like a soft boiled egg or a porridge, and not some very fat fowl’. This advice holds well today.

— Jim Nielson

Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia: Morning Sickness
Top
Home > Library > Health > Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia

Definition

Morning sickness is the nausea and vomiting experienced during pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester. Although it is called morning sickness, it can and usually does occur at any time of the day or night.

Description

Morning sickness is characterized by extreme nausea and vomiting. It varies widely in intensity; some women experience only minor stomach upset for a very brief time period, while others become so ill that they have difficulty keeping food and fluids down and functioning normally.

In the majority of women, morning sickness symptoms subside toward the end of the first trimester (at 12–14 weeks). However, some women continue to experience nausea well into the second trimester, and some mothers of multiples (twins, triplets, etc.) may have morning sickness throughout their pregnancy.

Causes & Symptoms

The exact cause of morning sickness is unknown, but several factors are thought likely to contribute to the illness, including:

  • Hormones. The pregnancy hormone hCG enters the bloodstream in high levels in the first trimester of pregnancy. These high hormone levels may trigger activity in the nausea and vomiting center of the brain, which is located in the brainstem.
  • Muscle relaxation in the digestive tract. During pregnancy, the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract relax, slowing the digestion somewhat and possibly contributing to nausea.
  • Heightened sense of smell. Pregnant women experience a heightened sense of smell during pregnancy that can transform unpleasant odors into unbearable, nausea-producing scents.
  • Excessive salivation. The phenomena ptyalism, or excess saliva, is another symptom of pregnancy that can cause nausea in some women.
  • Postnasal drip. Many pregnant women experience postnasal drip and/or nasal congestion, triggered by high levels of estrogen in their bloodstream. Estrogen increases the blood flow throughout the body, including the mucous membrane of the nose. This postnasal drip contributes to upset stomach in many pregnant women.

Diagnosis

Because it is such a common occurrence, morning sickness is easily diagnosed in pregnant women. A healthcare practitioner should question the patient about her pregnancy symptoms during each prenatal visit. In women who are visiting their healthcare providers because of unexplained nausea, morning sickness is sometimes the first symptom or sign of pregnancy.

Nausea and vomiting accompanied by abdominal pain may indicate a more serious problem than simple morning sickness, such as gall bladder or pancreatic disease. Women who experience pain symptoms in conjunction with their nausea should contact their healthcare provider or an emergency medical facility immediately.

Treatment

There are a number of remedies for morning sickness. These include:

  • Eat small, frequent meals. When the stomach is empty, it produces acid that irritates the stomach lining. In addition, an empty stomach can cause low blood sugar, which can also cause nausea.
  • Eat foods high in proteins and complex carbohydrates. Protein foods (e.g., eggs, cheese, and yogurt) and complex carbohydrates (e.g., whole-grain breads and cereals, dried beans and peas, and baked potatoes) discourage stomach upset and are also beneficial to both mother and baby.
  • Avoid foods and beverages that do not sound appealing. Pregnant women usually experience at least one food aversion. The more appetizing a food appears to be, the more likely it is to stay down.
  • Stay hydrated. Dehydration can worsen nausea, so pregnant women should drink plenty of fluids. If a woman has an aversion to fluids, she can eat foods with a high water content, such as watermelon, grapes, and other fruits.
  • Try a vitamin B6 supplement. Vitamin B6 reduces nausea in some women, and is not harmful in recommended doses during pregnancy. Women should consult their healthcare practitioner before taking supplements.
  • Eat or drink ginger. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) settles the stomach for some women. Ginger tea and foods made with ginger (such as ginger snaps) are usually available at grocery or health food stores.
  • Try an herbal infusion. An infusion, or tea, of two parts black horehound (Ballota nigra), one part meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), and one part chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), taken three times a day, can soothe morning sickness for some women. Women should always consult their healthcare practitioner before taking herbal remedies during pregnancy.
  • Wear sea bands. Sea bands are elastic bands worn around the wrists which place pressure on the inner wrist, an acupressure point for controlling nausea. They are usually used for controlling carsickness and seasickness.
  • Keep the mouth fresh. Mints and regular tooth brushing can decrease excess saliva. Using a mouth rinse and/or brushing the teeth after vomiting is a good idea to control tooth decay and lessen stomach upset.
  • Stay well rested. Fatigue and stress can make morning sickness worse.

Allopathic Treatment

Some women with extreme cases of morning sickness may develop a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarium (excessive vomiting during pregnancy). These women are at risk for dehydration and insufficient weight gain, and may require bed rest and intravenous nutrition and fluids if vomiting cannot be controlled.

Several antiemetic, or antivomiting, medications are available for pregnant women. Antiemetic medication should always be prescribed by a physician familiar with its use and with the patient's medical history. Antiemetics may be contraindicated (or not recommended) for patients with certain medical conditions. They may also interact with other medications.

Expected Results

Morning sickness treatments have varying success. Some women will find one or more remedies that can completely cure their nausea, while others may remain sick throughout their pregnancy. In addition, women expecting two or more babies usually experience heightened morning sickness due to the higher level of pregnancy hormones in their bodies, and may suffer from nausea and vomiting for a longer time than women with a single pregnancy. However, for the majority of pregnant women, nausea stops or at least diminishes by the end of the first trimester.

Prevention

The best cure for preventing bouts of nausea is to eat frequently. Many women find that eating six small meals or snacks a day (morning, mid-morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and bedtime) prevents stomach upset. Getting adequate rest can also help to keep morning sickness at bay.

Resources

Books

Eisenberg, Arlene et al. What to Expect When You're Expecting. 2d ed. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 1996.

Hoffman, David. The Complete Illustrated Herbal. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1999.

[Article by: Paula Ford-Martin]

Wikipedia: Morning sickness
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia

Morning sickness, also called nausea gravidarum, nausea, vomiting of pregnancy (emesis gravidarum or NVP), or pregnancy sickness is a condition that affects more than half[1] of all pregnant women, as well as some women who use hormonal contraception or hormone replacement therapy. Usually, it is present in the early hours of the morning and reduces as the day progresses. The nausea can be mild or induce actual vomiting. In extreme cases, vomiting may be severe enough to cause dehydration, weight loss, alkalosis and hypokalemia. This extreme condition is known as hyperemesis gravidarum and occurs in about 1% of all pregnancies. Nausea and vomiting can be one of the first signs of pregnancy and usually begins around the 6th week of pregnancy (week 1 starting on the day the last period started). It can occur at any time of the day, and for most women it seems to stop around the 12th week of pregnancy.[2]

Contents

Causes

Proximate causes of pregnancy sickness include:

Morning sickness as a defense mechanism

Morning sickness is currently understood as an evolved trait that protects the fetus against toxins ingested by the mother.[6] Many plants contain chemical toxins that serve as a deterrent to being eaten. Adult humans, like other animals, have defenses against plant toxins, including extensive arrays of detoxification enzymes manufactured by the liver and the surface tissues of various other organs. In the fetus, these defenses are not yet fully developed, and even small doses of plant toxins that have negligible effects on the adult can be harmful or lethal to the embryo.[7] Pregnancy sickness causes women to experience nausea when exposed to the smell or taste of foods that are likely to contain toxins injurious to the fetus, even though they may be harmless to her.

There is considerable evidence in support of this theory, including:[8]

  • Morning sickness is very common among pregnant women, which argues in favor of it being a functional adaptation and against the idea that it is a pathology.
  • Fetal vulnerability to toxins peaks at around 3 months, which is also the time of peak susceptibility to morning sickness.
  • There is a good correlation between toxin concentrations in foods, and the tastes and odors that cause revulsion.
  • Women who have no morning sickness are more likely to miscarry or to bear children with birth defects.

In addition to protecting the fetus, morning sickness may also protect the mother. Pregnant women's immune systems are suppressed during pregnancy, presumably to reduce the chances of rejecting tissues of their own offspring.[9] Because of this, animal products containing parasites and harmful bacteria can be especially dangerous to pregnant women. There is evidence that morning sickness is often triggered by animal products including meat and fish.[10]

If morning sickness is a defense mechanism against the ingestion of toxins, the prescribing of anti-nausea medication to pregnant women may have the undesired side effect of causing birth defects or miscarriages by encouraging harmful dietary choices.[8] On the other hand, many domestic vegetables have been purposely bred to have lower levels of toxins than in the distant past, and so the level of threat to the embryo may not be as high as it was when the defense mechanism first evolved.[11]

Other explanations

Many other non-scientific theories for morning sickness have been proposed in the past. Notably, according to psychologist Sigmund Freud, morning sickness is the result of the mother's loathing of her husband. The subconscious manifestation of this is a desire to abort the fetus through vomiting.[12] In general, such theories are not accepted by modern scientists; Steven Pinker, in "How the Mind Works" goes further, ridiculing the idea as the "barf-up-your-baby theory".[12]

Treatments

Treatments for morning sickness typically aim to lessen the symptoms of nausea, rather than attacking the root cause(s) of the nausea. Treatments include:

  • Lemons, particularly the smelling of freshly cut lemons.
  • Avoiding an empty stomach.
  • Accommodating food cravings and aversions.
  • Eating five or six small meals per day, rather than three large ones.
  • Eating cabbage.[13]
  • Trying the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and tea.[14]
  • Ginger, in capsules, tea, ginger ale, or ginger snaps.[15]
  • Eating dry crackers in the morning.
  • Drinking liquids 30 to 45 minutes after eating solid food.
  • If liquids are vomited, sucking ice cubes made from water or fruit juice.
  • Vitamin B6 (either pyridoxine or pyridoxamine), often taken in combination with the antihistamine doxylamine (Diclectin).

A doctor may prescribe anti-nausea medications if the expectant mother suffers from dehydration or malnutrition as a result of her morning sickness, a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum. In the US, Zofran (ondansetron) is the usual drug of choice, though the high cost is prohibitive for some women; in the UK, older drugs with which there is a greater experience of use in pregnancy are preferred, with first choice being promethazine otherwise as second choice metoclopramide, or prochlorperazine.[16]

Thalidomide

Further information: Thalidomide#History

Thalidomide was originally developed and prescribed as a cure for morning sickness in West Germany, but its use was discontinued when the drug's teratogenic properties came to light. The United States Food and Drug Administration never approved thalidomide for use as a cure for morning sickness.

References

  • Morning Sickness: A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes and Treatments, Nicky Wesson, Vermilion (1997), ISBN 009181538X
  • Morning Sickness - A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References, ICON Health Publications (2004), ISBN 0597840431

Notes

  1. ^ "Morning Sickness". American Pregnancy Association. 03/2007. http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/morningsickness.html. Retrieved 2007-04-08. 
  2. ^ American Pregnancy Association, http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/morningsickness.html
  3. ^ "First Trimester Pregnancy". The Visible Embryo. http://www.visembryo.com/baby/pregnancy1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
  4. ^ "Morning Sickness: Coping With The Worst". NY Metro Parents Magazine. http://www.nymetroparents.com/newarticle.cfm?colid=7114. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
  5. ^ Erick, Miriam (2004). "Managing Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women". Bull Publishing Company. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SdVW-61bJVAC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=morning+sickness+Low+blood+sugar&source=web&ots=v1ucYI2cLq&sig=rM3tav7w2BhV6Bajj7pPdowQzdE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
  6. ^ Profet, Margie (1992). "Pregnancy Sickness as Adaptation: A Deterrent to Maternal Ingestion of Teratogens". The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture. pp. 327-365. 
  7. ^ Beck, F. (1973). Human Embryology and Genetics. Blackwell Scientific. 
  8. ^ a b Nesse, Randolphe M; Williams, George C. Why We Get Sick (First ed.). New York: Vintage Books. pp. 290. 
  9. ^ Haig, David (October 1993). "Genetic conflicts in human pregnancy". Quarterly Review of Biology 68: 495–532. 
  10. ^ Flaxman, Samuel M.; Sherman, Paul W. (June 2000). "Morning sickness: a mechanism for protecting mother and embryo". Quarterly Review of Biology 75: 113–148. 
  11. ^ Martin, Mike (June 29, 2009). "Margie Profet's Unfinished Symphony". Weekly Scientist. 
  12. ^ a b Pinker, Steven (1997) How the Mind Works ISBN 978-0-140-24991-5, p.39
  13. ^ Akhtar MS, Munir M (1989). Evaluation of the gastric anti-ulcerogenic effects of Solanum nigrum, Brassica oleracea and Ocimum basilicum in rats.. 27. pp. 163–176. PMID 2515396. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=DetailsSearch&Term=((%22brassica%22%5BTIAB%5D+NOT+Medline%5BSB%5D)+OR+%22brassica%22%5BMeSH+Terms%5D+OR+cabbage%5BText+Word%5D)+AND+(%22ulcer%22%5BMeSH+Terms%5D+OR+ulcer%5BText+Word%5D). "Brassica oleracea (leaf) powder did not affect the ulcer index significantly but its aqueous extract lowered the index and increased hexosamine levels, suggesting gastric mucosal protection.". 
  14. ^ Warhus, Susan. "Tips to ease pregnancy's morning sickness". PregnancyAndBaby.com. http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/Tips-to-ease-pregnancys-morning-sickness-4495.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-05. 
  15. ^ Borrelli F, Capasso R, Aviello G, Pittler MH, Izzo AA (2005). "Effectiveness and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting". Obstetrics and gynecology 105 (4): 849–56. doi:10.1097/01.AOG.0000154890.47642.23 (inactive 2008-06-28). PMID 15802416. 
  16. ^ British National Formulary (March 2003). "4.6 Drugs used in nausea and vertigo - Vomiting of pregnancy". "BNF" (45 ed.). 

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
World of the Body. The Oxford Companion to the Body. Copyright © 2001, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Morning sickness".  Read more