Pregnancy Morning Sickness ? Take it in your Stride

The word “pregnancy morning sickness” is actually very misleading. You may feel why you call it morning sickness when I suffer the whole daylong. Morning sickness or nausea may affect a pregnant woman anytime during the day. At least fifty percent of pregnant women experience nausea, an important yet scary early pregnancy symptom while some just don’t experience it, they are luckier perhaps.

Vomiting or nausea during pregnancy as it is commonly called may occur during the first trimester for a pregnant woman. You may experience relief from morning sickness after around 14 weeks but you never know it may keep visiting you throughout your pregnancy.

Cause Of Morning Sickness:

As you prepare for the arrival of a new baby many physical changes are taking place in your body and probably a combination of these changes causes morning sickness. Some medical reasons could be listed as follows:

The rising levels of the hormones human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG) and estrogen during the same time that nausea commonly occurs are prime suspects though there is no confirmed proof of this finding

During pregnancy a woman seems to have a very high sensitivity to strong odors. Any strong odor even of cooked rice or the like triggers a nauseating feeling probably due to a high level of estrogen.

It is also a possibility that the gastro intestinal tracts of some women are more sensitive to changes of pregnancy

Some people believe that morning sickness is caused by Vitamin B deficiency. Though taking Vitamin B6 supplement gives morning sickness relief the actual reason why is still unknown. Multivitamins taken during conception and beginning stages of pregnancy give substantial relief but we really do not know why.

Factors that may promote your chances of pregnancy morning sickness:

In case you are carrying twins your body produces twice the number of hormones so the chances are high

In case you had it during a previous pregnancy

Hereditary also plays an important role so if your mom had it there is a fair chance you may too

There is no specific cure for morning sickness but there are some tips you can follow to alleviate them. You may take a multivitamin, Vitamin B6 or doxylamine after consulting your doctor. Avoid discomforting odors, eat frequent meals, drink liquids between meals not immediately after a meal and an important point is never keep your stomach empty. Always keep some crackers and citrus fruits with you and by your bed. Make sure to keep munching something all day. Eat simple food do not have spicy, fried, heavy foods which may enhance your nausea.

Nausea can be very irritating and painful especially if it takes on a very severe form. Just take a few precautions and remember it will definitely get better as time passes. Do not let yourself get dehydrated at any point consult your physician if you are not retaining anything for 24 hours. Don’t worry it will not affect your baby just make sure you do lose too much weight once the discomfort relieves you may begin eating normally and the baby will gain weight.

At 12 Weeks Pregnant the First Trimester is Over

It is when you are 12 weeks pregnant that you can tell by an ultrasound if you are going to have a boy or a girl. Although you may have noticed some weight gain, your belly is not yet large enough for others to detect that you are pregnant. If you have been experiencing morning sickness, you may even have lost weight. Morning sickness reaches its peak in this week and the next, so much so that you can get sick just by brushing your teeth. You may notice that your gums are tender or that there are small lumps on your gums. This is a normal part of being pregnant, but there is nothing wrong with visiting your dentist just to check things out.

You will still be feeling tired and want to take naps during the day. It is important that you go to bed early and get a good night rest. Even though your stomach may churn at the thought of food, you should make sure you have healthy meals and snacks. Taking your folic acid and iron supplements is extremely important for the growth and development of the baby.

At 12 weeks, the baby is starting to look less like a little alien and more like a human baby. Its eyes have moved into the proper position on the head and the ears have developed. The baby can now swallow and does in fact swallow some of the amniotic fluid that surrounds it in the uterus. It doesn have lungs at this point and so cannot breathe. The intestines have not yet formed inside the body and are still in the umbilical cord. It is during this week that the baby starts to develop fingernails and toenails.

The baby is now about 2.5 inches long and weighs about .5 of an ounce. Even so you will still be able to see the nose and chin. Since your risk of having a miscarriage is greatly reduced by this time, you can start to relax and enjoy your pregnancy with worrying all the time. If your morning sickness has decreased or started to wane, you may start craving certain foods and be able to cook some meals for yourself. It is important that any meat you eat is cooked thoroughly so that you do not take a chance of getting toxoplasmosis. It is also important that you refrain from emptying the cat litter because you can get this virus from cat feces.

You may feel a lot better when you wear loose clothing even though you aren really much bigger than your normal size. The loose clothing lets you feel more comfortable, especially if the weather is hot and humid. Take a walk when you can so that you get your exercise and start preparing your muscles for the job ahead for the next six months. When sleeping at night, you may also find it more comfortable to curl yourself around a body pillow.

Don be alarmed if your breasts and nipples are tender and if your breasts start to enlarge. This is your body way of preparing food for the new arrival.

How You Can Expect to Feel at 18 Weeks Pregnant

When you are 18 weeks pregnant, you are in the middle of the second trimester. At this time, your friends and family will tell you how good you look and that being pregnant suits you. This is because pregnant women at this stage seem to have a glow about them. The morning sickness has passed for most women by now and they are able to enjoy being pregnant concentrating on the coming birth of the baby. You are your partner can also renew your relationship because you are not as emotional over little things as you were only a few weeks ago.

When you are 18 weeks into your pregnancy, you will have many feelings of movement in the womb. These are called quickenings at this stage and feel like bubbly movements inside your body. The baby is starting to move about and the feelings come from the movement this causes in the amniotic fluid almost like waves. It is advisable to get exercise more often to strengthen your muscles for the job they will have to do. While strenuous exercise is out of the question, you should take longer walls when the weather is suitable.

You will start to have more gas pains and indigestion at this point because of the growing baby. At first you may even think that the babys movements are the rumblings of gas into your stomach. You may feel hungry most of the time because the baby needs lots of nourishment for its growth and development. The hunger pangs may be more frequent if you have missed out on all your favourite foods during morning sickness and you may also have unusual cravings. Foods that are high in carbs are important to give both you and the baby the energy you need.

To ease your hunger pangs, you should have a supply of nutritious snacks on hand, such as nuts, crackers and cereal bars. In this way, you will be sure your body is getting the nutrients the baby needs instead of loading up of junk food that has no nutritional value. These are small and easy to fit in your purse so that you always have something to eat close at hand.

At this point you and the father can start talking and reading to the baby so that he/she will start to recognize your voices.  The ears are formed perfectly in place and are fully functional so the baby can hear you. The babys bones start to ossify or harden at this time. They are also coated in myelin so that sensation to the nerve endings will travel quickly to the brain. The nerves throughout the body are starting to develop into the complex nervous system that will be evident by the time the baby is born. The baby also has a sense of smell, taste and sight at 18 weeks. It weighs between five and seven ounces and is a little more than 5 inches long.  From now on though, the babys growth will develop at a much faster pace.

What it Like to be 14 Weeks Pregnant?

You are officially into the second trimester of your pregnancy when you are 14 weeks pregnant. You have renewed energy and you don have morning sickness as much as you did in previous weeks. In fact, it may be gone all together. If you haven made the announcement that you are pregnant, others will start to guess because you will have a little bump in your belly. This is the time to sit back and enjoy being pregnant as you plan for the future little bundle of joy. In most cases, once you have passed the first trimester you are out of danger of having a miscarriage, so you can start to relax.

Catch up on your sleep once you enter your 14th week because you will need it later on. Since you are feeling so much better, you will have a renewed interest in love making, much to the delight of your partner. However, you will start to have aches and pains in your lower back due to the body production of a hormone called relaxin. The production of this hormone is essential to allow your belly and uterus to expand to meet the needs of the growing baby. The production of this hormone is at its peak in your 14th week of pregnancy and the levels will remain high throughout the rest of your term. It will help to strengthen and loosen the muscles in your pelvic area to make the birth easier.

It is very likely that you will start feeling mild contractions and pulling sensations during this week. Many new mothers in their first pregnancy become alarmed and schedule a visit with their doctor because of this, but it is normal. This is a sign that your ligaments and muscles are starting to stretch to make room for the baby.

The baby skeletal system has developed by this point and now the brain building begins. The skin is still quite wrinkly, but after this the baby will start to develop fat and fill out. The baby also has fingerprints at this stage of development and although the arms are fully developed, the legs are still quite short in proportion to the rest of the body. Even though the baby only weighs about an ounce and is only about 3.5 inches long, you will soon start to feel little fluttering movements as he/she starts to move around.

Now that you have more energy, this is a great time to start taking walks to build up your muscles. You should also start eating more salmon because it is a good source of Omega 3 fatty oils, which are good for both you and the baby. You may also start to have food cravings and the fact that your morning sickness has passed, you may want to eat strange foods. Ice cream is one food that many pregnant women crave at odd hours of the night. It is helpful if you stock up on your favourite flavour so that you have it on hand when you need it.

18 Weeks Pregnant

You’re just about 50% through your pregnancy at 18 weeks pregnant. If you were experiencing morning sickness, it should be just about gone and you’ll be feeling better. At this particular point of your pregnancy you’ll probably be feeling quite energetic.

At this time of pregnancy, most women feel quite good in fact. They are still feeling quite comfortable and are rejoicing in showing off the pregnancy. Your belly should be showing to some extent now and you may need to switch to maternity clothes if you haven’t done so yet.

By 18 weeks pregnant you’ll be experiencing the baby’s movements as small kicks and fluttering movements. As your pregnancy progresses these will be getting stronger. You can use this as experience in making an assessment of your baby’s general wellbeing by the amount of movements you experience.

Eat healthy and don’t stress too much about gaining weight. About ten pounds is what most women will gain by this stage of the pregnancy. The better your food intake selections are, the lower the weight that you gain will be.

Make every calorie count because you are building a person! Take it easy on high sugar content desserts and be sure to eat fruit, vegetables and protein. Be sure to drink enough water to stay well-hydrated, dehydration will cause contractions.

Instead of eating three large meals per day you will find it better to eat several smaller meals each day. You’ll maintain a good blood sugar level without overeating. As the baby grows bigger, this approach works well and also because as your uterus grows, your stomach gets squeezed.

Exercise is important in staying healthy. Simply taking a walking around the neighborhood or local park a few times each week will result in an easier labor and general better feeling than if you don’t do any exercise at all.

You may also become aware that at about 18 weeks pregnant it is harder to be comfortable when sleeping. Experimenting with different positions may be necessary. It may be helpful to use extra pillows or a body pillow made for pregnant women.

Enjoy your pregnancy and your changing body. Pregnancy is only for a short time, so relish it if you can.

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Dealing with morning sickness involves avoiding strong smells and eating stomach settling foods, like lemons, ginger and watermelon. Deal with morning sickness with tips from a gynecologist and obstetrician in this free video on pregnancy. Expert: Dr. Jill Hechtman MD OB/GYN Contact: www.ob-gyn.com Bio: Dr. Jill Hechtman, MD is an Ob/Gyn and vice president of Tampa Obstetrics. Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz