Morning sickness, also called nausea, vomiting of pregnancy (emesis gravidarum or NVP), or pregnancy sickness, affects between 50^[1] and 95 percent of all pregnant women as well as some women who use hormonal contraception or hormone replacement therapy. The nausea can be mild or induce actual vomiting. In extreme cases, known as hyperemesis gravidarum, hospitalization may be required to treat the resulting dehydration. For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation). ... Emesis redirects here. ... This article is about human pregnancy in biological females. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... Hormonal contraception refers to birth control methods that act on the hormonal system. ... Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a system of medical treatment for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, based on the assumption that it may prevent discomfort and health problems caused by diminished circulating estrogen hormones. ... Hyperemesis gravidarum (from the Latin for extreme vomiting of the pregnant woman) is a severe form of morning sickness. ... Dehydration (hypohydration) is the removal of water (hydro in ancient Greek) from an object. ...

Duration of condition

Morning sickness can occur at any time of the day, though it occurs most often upon waking, because blood sugar levels are typically the lowest after a night without food. In medicine, blood sugar is a term used to refer to levels of glucose in the blood. ...

Morning sickness usually starts in the first month of the pregnancy, peaking in the fifth to seventh weeks, and continuing until the 14th to 16th week. For half of the sufferers, it ends by the 16th week of pregnancy. It may take the others up to another month to get relief, and some women suffer intermittent episodes throughout their pregnancy. This article is about human pregnancy in biological females. ...

Causes

There is insufficient evidence to find a single (or multiple) cause, but the leading theories for proximate causes include:

• An increase in the circulating level of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen levels may increase by up to a hundredfold during pregnancy.
• Low blood sugar during pregnancy.
• An increase in progesterone relaxes the muscles in the uterus, which prevents early childbirth, but may also relax the stomach and intestines, leading to excess stomach acids.
• An increase in human chorionic gonadotropin.
• An increase in sensitivity to odors, which overstimulates normal nausea triggers.
• An increase in bowel movement.
• The body's effort to detoxify thoroughly for the health of the unborn child. This is supported by evidence that the liver and kidneys become more active than usual at the start of a pregnancy.

As for root causes, this issue is still somewhat controversial. A notable current scientific hypothesis is that morning sickness exists as a safeguard for the embryo's health. Biologists Gillian V. Pepper and S. Craig Roberts have done a study that indicates that the intake of alcohol, sugar, oils, and meat can trigger morning sickness. This then acts as a way of discouraging ingestion of less healthy foods.^[2] For other uses, see Hormone (disambiguation). ... Estriol. ... Progesterone is a C-21 steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy (supports gestation) and embryogenesis of humans and other species. ... For other uses of Muscles, see Muscles (disambiguation). ... This article is about female reproductive anatomy. ... Parturition redirects here. ... In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. ... In anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine. ... Gastric acid is the main secretion of the stomach, characterised by H2O, hydrochloric acid and several enzymes (mainly pepsinogen). ... Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a peptide hormone produced in pregnancy, that is made by the embryo soon after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta). ... The sensitivity or insensitivity of a human, often considered with regard to a particular kind of stimulus, is the strength of the feeling it results in, in comparison with the strength of the stimulus. ... Aroma redirects here. ...

Although Margie Profet has argued that eating vegetables may be a factor as well,^[3], this idea has been rejected by a prospective, population-based study which concluded that "claims made in the popular press about food and health relationships should be evaluated by the media as fiction unless supported by scientific research".^[4] Both Profet's vegetable theory and Deutsch's suggestion morning sickness's role is to reduce frequency of sexual intercourse, so preventing sexual uterine cramping that might be a cause spontaneous abortion,^[5] have been rejected by a cross-cultural study that suggested morning sickness is more frequently observed in societies that have animal products as dietary staples which may "be dangerous to pregnant women and their embryos because they often contain parasites and pathogens" and hence "that morning sickness serves an adaptive, prophylactic function".^[6] Margie Profet holds bachelors degrees from both Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley, she is a scientist at the University of Washington, Seattle. ... For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). ...

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:

• Avoiding an empty stomach.

• Eating five or six small meals per day, rather than three large ones.
• Ginger, in capsules, tea, ginger ale, or ginger snaps.^[7]
• Vitamin B6 (either pyridoxine or pyridoxamine), often taken in combination with the antihistamine doxylamine (Diclectin).
• Cabbage^[8]
• Lemons, particularly the smelling of freshly cut lemons.
• Accommodating food cravings and aversions.
• Eating dry crackers in the morning.
• Trying the BRATT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and tea.^[9]
• Drinking liquids 30 to 45 minutes after eating solid food.

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.^[10] For other uses, see Ginger (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tea (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ginger Snaps poster. ... Pyridoxine Pyridoxal phosphate Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin. ... Main article: vitamin B6 Pyridoxine is one of the compounds that can be called vitamin B6, along with Pyridoxal and Pyridoxamine. ... The two major forms of vitamin B6 are pyridoxine and pyridoxamine. ... An H1 antihistamine is a histamine antagonist which serves to reduce or eliminate effects mediated by histamine, an endogenous chemical mediator released during allergic reactions, through action at the H1 receptor. ... This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... Binomial name Citrus X limon {{{author}}} Lemons are the citrus fruit from the tree Citrus X limon. ... The BRAT diet is a treatment sometimes used when a young child who eats solids has diarrhea. ... An antiemetic is a drug that is effective against vomiting and nausea. ... Hyperemesis gravidarum (from the Latin for extreme vomiting of the pregnant woman) is a severe form of morning sickness. ... Ondansetron (INN) (IPA: ) is a serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist used mainly to treat nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy. ... Promethazine is a first-generation H1 receptor antagonist antihistamine and antiemetic medication. ... Metoclopramide (INN) (IPA: ) is a potent dopamine receptor antagonist used for its antiemetic and prokinetic properties. ... Prochlorperazine is a highly potent neuroleptic, which is 10 to 20-times more potent than chlorpromazine. ...

Thalidomide tragedy

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. This article is about the drug. ... This article is about the drug. ... Teratogenesis is a medical term from the Greek, literally meaning monster making. ... “FDA” redirects here. ...

Research

A recent Canadian survey conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria suggested that the use of medical marijuana may be effective in combating morning sickness,^[11] although the researchers noted that their survey was not conclusive.^[12] The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Canadian public research university with campuses in Vancouver and Kelowna. ... The University of Victoria (usually known as UVic, though originally as U of V) is located in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (northeast of Victoria). ... Cannabis sativa extract. ...

Associations with miscarriage risk

Studies have shown that women who suffer from morning sickness are less likely to have miscarriages as well as less likely to give birth to a baby with birth defects.^[13] Other doctors disagree with these links and claim that the mother's sensitivity to the changes in her body is not a variable that indicates risk of miscarriage.^{[citation needed]} It is also mentioned that many women having a molar pregnancy or an ectopic pregnancy suffer strong nausea. Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or the fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined in humans at a gestation of prior to 20 weeks. ... A congenital disorder is a medical condition or defect that is present at or before birth (for example, congenital heart disease). ... Molar pregnancy, sometimes simply referred as mole is a rare abnormal medical condition, a complication of pregnancy inside the category of gestational trophoblastic diseases. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... This article is about the day. ... Otherwise known as the doctors prescribing Bible the British National Formulary (BNF) contains a wide spectrum of information on prescribing and pharmacology, among others indications, side effects and costs of the prescription of all medication drugs available on the National Health Service. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 158th day of the year (159th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Steven Pinker Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a prominent Canadian-born American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, and popular science writer known for his spirited and wide-ranging advocacy of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. ...

External links

• Help and medical advice about nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, NVP