Morning Sickness

Why Haven't I Had Any Morning Sickness?

If you find you are among the large number of pregnant women who do not suffer any feelings of nausea and vomiting commonly associated with morning sickness then do not worry, it is not a sign that anything is wrong, just consider yourself pregnant and very lucky!!!

Pregnancy Morning Sickness

The term morning sickness is somewhat misleading because morning sickness during pregnancy can strike morning, noon or night and sometimes morning sickness can last all day. The symptoms of morning sickness can appear as soon as 2 weeks after conception, when the woman is not yet even aware of her pregnancy, or as late as 8 weeks into pregnancy. The degree at which each individual woman suffers with morning sickness can differ greatly, some women only suffer the odd queasy moment whilst some women feel violently sick all the time and/or have trouble keeping any food or drink down. Fortunately for most of the women who suffer with morning sickness the symptoms start to fade around week 12 - 14 of pregnancy, but when suffering with morning sickness this period of time seems unbearable!! Some women do however suffer with the symptoms of morning sickness in their second trimester and even for the whole 9 months of pregnancy, especially women who are expecting multiple babies.

A very small number of pregnant women suffer from an exaggerated form of morning sickness known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum and the symptom of this is excessive vomiting, this condition needs to be treated by a doctor to prevent malnutrition, dehydration and possible harm to mother and baby.

What Causes Morning Sickness?

Nobody knows for sure what the exact causes of morning sickness are, but there are many believed theories. The command post for nausea and sickness is located in the brain stem and many reasons have been put forward as to why this area may be overstimulated during pregnancy, including the high level of the pregnancy hormone hCG found in the blood, the elevated oestrogen levels, excess acid in the stomach, the enhanced sense of smell pregnant women develop, the relaxation of muscle tissue in the digestive tract which makes digestion less efficient and the rapid stretching of uterine muscles.

Several reasons have been put forward as to why womens suffering of morning sickness symptoms can vary from some women feeling slightly queasy, while others feel nauseated all day but never vomit and others who vomit frequently, the suggested reasons are

• Higher than normal hormone levels can increase morning sickness, as in a pregnant woman carrying more than one baby, whilst lower levels can reduce morning sickness or even eliminate it.
• The way a woman's brains nausea and vomiting command post responds to pregnancy hormones and other triggers can affect whether or not a women experiences morning sickness and to what degree. A woman who has a sensitive command centre and always gets carsick or seasick is likely to have more severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
• High stress levels can trigger gastrointestinal upset, so morning sickness symptoms can become worse when stress strikes.
• Mental and physical fatigue can increase the symptoms and the risk of morning sickness.

Healthy Mum - Morning Sickness Page 1 - Morning Sickness Page 2