No one is quite certain what morning sickness causes are. Several factors are put forward as theory to explain the vomit sensation that makes you throw up all the contents of your stomach. The physical causes may be related to the chemical changes your body is going through. Those changes include rapidly increasing estrogen and progesterone levels, an enhanced sense of smell and excess stomach acids. Stress and fatigue that accompany pregnancy also play a role.



Progesterone Plays A Role

A theory is that the dominant hormone progesterone causes morning sickness during pregnancy. Progesterone has a "softening" effect on the muscles in the body; it helps prevent preterm labor by effecting the uterine muscles. It also effects other muscles, such as the stomach and intestines. The progesterone relaxes the workings of the whole digestive tract making the elimination of bodily wastes slower, which can lead to a slow emptying of the stomach which in turn leads to excess stomach acids.

Smells In Pregnancy

A possible cause of morning sickness is heightened sensitivity to odors. An odor that may not have been offensive prior to pregnancy can suddenly become nauseating, triggering the gag reflex, for example foods like coffee and meat. The sensitivity may also be linked to an increase in hormones, specifically estrogen, but is still unknown.

Who Suffer It Most?

Those most likely to suffer morning sickness are those experiencing first pregnancies, in young women, and in women carrying multiple fetuses.

For a cure to morning sickness, it may help to eliminate foods that trigger nausea or are spicy or fatty. Eating a bland diet helps many pregnant women get through the morning sickness period. Many pregnant women also try eating small portions more frequently and avoiding large meals all together.

Mildly put, morning sickness is the name applied to nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is one of the early pregnancy symptoms. Though it is called morning sickness and many women find the nausea and vomiting painful to endure, it can occur at any time of the day. Usually disappearing at the end of the first trimester, morning sickness gives way to indigestion and heartburn during the third trimester. This is when the uterus has expanded to accommodate the growing fetus, putting pressure on the upper digestive track.

What's The Good In Morning Sickness?

Morning sickness isn't all bad, though. Recent studies have suggested that mothers who have morning sickness have fewer miscarriages so the morning sickness bouts you are suffering have a useful role to play after all, in your and your baby's well being. A study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology released in May 2000 suggested that morning sickness could help regulate levels of insulin in a pregnant woman's bloodstream, particularly during the early stages of pregnancy when bloodstream insulin levels tend to increase. Insulin, which is released in response to food intake, regulates blood sugar levels, and the result is that as insulin levels increase in the bloodstream, more fat is metabolized. During early pregnancy, bouts of vomiting keeps insulin levels down, thus slowing fat metabolism. This is beneficial to the fetus because it ensures there are enough nutrients to fuel its early development. Morning sickness causes might thus have a healthy bearing on your baby's development.