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KEY POINTS
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Morning sickness is stomach upset, nausea, or vomiting that often happens during pregnancy. Nausea is a feeling of stomach upset and often is the feeling you have just before you vomit. Vomiting is throwing up food and fluid from the stomach through the mouth. Sometimes you may feel nausea without vomiting. Many pregnant women have morning sickness during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Morning sickness can happen any time of the day.
If you have severe morning sickness, it can cause problems for you and the baby. You could lose weight and lose too much fluid from your body. You and the baby may not get enough nutrients, or your body’s chemicals may get out of balance.
It is not well understood why some women have morning sickness and others do not. Women with high levels of pregnancy hormones tend to have morning sickness. It is also more common when a woman is pregnant with more than 1 baby, like with twins.
Morning sickness tends to be worse during your first pregnancy. It usually goes away by about the 14th week of pregnancy, when the level of pregnancy hormones gets lower.
Mild symptoms include nausea, queasy stomach, and vomiting 1 to 2 times a day. Symptoms of severe morning sickness may include:
Your healthcare provider will ask about your symptoms and medical history and examine you. Tests may include:
If you have severe morning sickness, you may need other tests or scans.
Severe morning sickness may be treated with:
Things that you can do that might help relieve morning sickness are:
A dietitian can help you plan a way to eat a balanced diet.
Because you are losing fluids when you throw up, it’s important to drink fluids. Even if liquids stay down just an hour, your body will absorb a lot in that time. Try sucking on ice chips or Popsicles. Take small sips often rather than drinking a whole glass of fluid at once. Some women find that drinking small sips of peppermint tea, ginger tea, or ginger ale helps their symptoms.
Hypnosis or acupuncture may help. Check with your healthcare provider before you try any natural remedies or alternative treatments.