Vomiting during pregnancy is a very common symptoms. Most women who become pregnant will get mild symptoms of nausea and vomiting in the first trimester of the pregnancy. By the fourth month of pregnancy, these symptoms usually go away. However, in some women, the symptoms can last the entire day. The problem is often referred to as morning sickness.
What Causes Vomiting During Pregnancy?
There are many bodily changes you can experience while you are pregnant. These can be mental or physical changes. For vomiting, some possible causes include:
1. Hormonal Changes
In pregnancy, you will have an increase in HCG, which stands for human chorionic gonadotrophin, as well as increases in progesterone and estrogen. Many experts believe that it is these hormonal changes that cause vomiting during pregnancy. There are also changes in your Thyroid hormones, which can lead to vomiting. The low blood glucose levels in pregnancy can also result in vomiting.
2. Certain Foods
There are certain foods that will trigger vomiting in pregnancy, even when just smelling them. The common triggers to vomiting are meat, seafood, eggs, garlic, coffee, and tea. Besides, spicy or fatty food can also cause it. While you are pregnant, your digestion slows down and fatty, spicy foods stay in your stomach longer, leading to indigestion, acidity in the stomach, and vomiting.
3. Having Twins or More
If you are having more than one baby, the levels of HCG and other pregnancy hormones are higher. This leads to an increased risk of vomiting and nausea during pregnancy.
4. Psychological Reasons
Pregnancy can lead to anxiety and Depression, which leads to an increased risk of vomiting.
Will Vomiting During Pregnancy Affect the Baby?
Vomiting in pregnancy can be annoying, but it usually does not threaten the health of either the mother or the baby.
You should know the difference, however, between the typical vomiting during your pregnancy and a possibly dangerous health condition in pregnancy, known as hyperemesis gravidarum. This is a condition in which you have severe pregnancy symptoms including severe nausea and vomiting. This can be a dangerous condition, leading to a rapid heart rate, low Blood Pressure, Dehydration, and Weight Loss. The vomiting can be so severe that the fetus doesn't get the nutrition necessary for proper growth and development.
How to Deal With Vomiting During Pregnancy
If you do not have severe symptoms, you don't need any kind of treatment. If you want to feel better, though, there are things you can do to help control the symptoms.
1. Eat Frequent and Small Meals
Try eating mostly foods containing carbohydrates, including crackers, bread, and potatoes. The condition is often worsened by having an empty stomach, so if you eat several small meals per day, you may feel better. A plain cookie or cracker eaten about twenty minutes before arising can keep morning sickness way. Eat your meals cold as the smell of cooking can exacerbate vomiting whenpregnant.
2. Ginger
You can take tablets or syrup containing ginger to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. If you decide to take a ginger-containing product, however, you should discuss it with your doctor, so you can take the right product for you. Besides ginger products, other foods can also lessen vomiting symptoms, including fennel, lemons, limes, and peppermint.
Here are more foods choices that you can try to help with your vomiting.
3. Stay Away from Triggers
If you know what is causing the vomiting, you should stay away from that trigger. This can mean avoiding Stress and staying away from those smells that you know will make your symptoms work.
4. Drink a Lot of Fluid
This will help prevent the dehydration that can go along with vomiting during pregnancy. At least two quarts or liters of fluid per day are a good guideline to follow. Be aware that cold drinks and drinks that are sweet can worsen your symptoms and cause worsened vomiting.
5. Get a Lot of Rest
Resting and getting enough sleep in pregnancy can help prevent vomiting whenpregnant. When you are fatigued, you are more likely to suffer from body discomfort.
6. Acupressure
There is a pressure point on the wrist that when stimulated, can decrease the amount of nausea and vomiting you have. This is a gentle process that does not require acupuncture needles.
When a Doctor Is Needed?
While nausea and vomiting during pregnancy happen all the time and can usually be relieved by home remedies as noted above, there are some situations in which a doctor's care is necessary in order to keep hyperemesis gravidarum away and to prevent dehydration. Some of these include the following:
- You have severe nausea and vomiting on most days. This can mean you are suffering from an Allergy to food or some type of infection, leading to vomiting.
- You feel that you are dehydrated or extremely fatigued after vomiting several times. Sometimes you will need to see the doctor to get a supplement that might help balance your nutritional status.
- You notice that the vomit is of an unusual color, such as the color of bile or a deep yellow color. If you experience this, you should call the doctor and tell him or her about it.
Remember that even small changes in your health during pregnancy can be something that is important. Report changes in your health to your doctor so that he or she can follow through and can help you feel better.
In rare circumstances, your doctor may recommend an anti-nausea medication. This is needed when the symptoms are very severe and home remedies do not seem to be helping. If you still vomit during pregnancy despite home remedies, you may need to be hospitalized in order to receive intravenous fluids for a period of time.
