Pregnancy Nausea – When To Expect It
There is no hard and fast rule when pregnancy nausea, more commonly known as morning sickness, will strike. Some women can go their whole term without feeling the slightest flicker of queasiness while others will be plagued with rushing to the bathroom throughout their whole pregnancy.
Everybody’s pregnancy is individual and therefore different. You may want to hurl at the thought of curry while your pregnant friend may cheerfully sit down to a vindaloo without any repercussions. Even so, there are some generalizations that can be made and will give some idea of when to expect pregnancy nausea.
When To Expect It
It is possible to feel nauseous in the first month of your pregnancy but it is more common to be morning sick around the sixth week. This is when your hormone levels are in a state of fluctuation and your body is trying to adjust to the physical changes. It is an important stage for your baby as major organs are being formed so avoiding things like alcohol, drugs and treatments such as perms or manicures – basically anything that involves the use of chemicals – is a good idea.
It is thought that sickness may be started by the increased production of progesterone which relaxes the uterus in preparation for the baby and prevents the onset of early labour. It may also relax the muscles around the stomach and so bring on nausea.
As the baby grows week by week so will the sickness continue until it reaches a peak around the twelfth to fourteenth week. Around now the nausea will start to recede although for an unlucky few, it will continue and for some will carry on even up to the birth. After the first trimester (after week 12) your hormones will start to settle in and the uterus will shift upwards to accommodate your rapidly growing baby. This means both your bladder and stomach get some respite until the baby fills all the next available space.
From the name morning sickness, you may expect to experience it only during the morning hours and, it is true that many do wake up feeling sick and nauseous. This is thought to be due to the fact that you stomach is empty and needs filling up again. Incidentally, it may be a good idea to put a few dry crackers or biscuits by your bed at night so if you wake up feeling ill in the morning, you can nibble on these and put something in your stomach to settle it. Anyway, to get back to the point in hand, morning sickness is a complete misnomer – it does not only happen in the mornings. It can strike at any point during the day and may be due to fluctuating hormones or tiredness but external factors can trigger it off as well such as a spicy meal or a pungent smell.
This is in no way a definite timetable as every pregnancy is different to the next but it will serve as a guideline on when pregnancy nausea can start to kick in.
