Morning Sickness
Why do they call it morning sickness if I feel nauseated all day long?
About three-quarters of all pregnant women have nausea (and sometimes vomiting) during their first trimester. For some, it's worse in the morning and gets better over the course of the day, but "morning sickness" can strike at any time. The nausea usually starts around 6 weeks but can come on as early as 4 weeks for some women, and it usually tapers off around 13 weeks as you start your second trimester, although queasiness can come and go throughout your pregnancy.
What causes nausea and vomiting during pregnancy?
No one knows what causes nausea during pregnancy, but it's probably due to some combination of the many physical changes taking place in your body. Some possible causes include:
Rapidly increasing levels of hCG, estrogen, and other hormones during early pregnancy No one knows why they may contribute to your nausea, but the timing is right: Nausea tends to peak around the same time as your levels of these hormones do.
An enhanced sense of smell and sensitivity to odors. It's not uncommon for a newly pregnant woman to find that she's now overwhelmed by the smell of a bologna sandwich from four blocks away, for example, and that certain aromas instantly trigger her gag reflex. This, too, may be a side effect of rapidly increasing estrogen in your system.
A tricky stomach. Some women have a gastrointestinal tract that's more sensitive to the changes they're undergoing in early pregnancy. One study even found an association between h. pylori (a gastrointestinal bacteria that can cause ulcers) and severe nausea during pregnancy, although no one knows why the two may be related.
You may have heard that morning sickness can be caused by a B vitamin deficiency. While taking a vitamin B6 supplement does seem to help ease nausea in many pregnant women, that doesn't mean they have a vitamin deficiency. In fact, at least one...
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