Causes of Morning Sickness

It is unknown what actually causes morning sickness in pregnant women, although it is possible that a combination of factors could be responsible. Morning sickness is most likely due to the fast changes occurring in your body due to your pregnancy.

Hormones
The increased hormone levels can be a major cause of morning sickness because your body is not used to it. The hormone progesterone causes the smooth muscles in your body to relax this includes the muscles in your digestive system. When the muscles in you digestive system relax it can cause slow digestion which leads to an excess of acid in your stomach causing nausea.

One of the main causes of heartburn in a pregnant woman is the ring that closes off the esophagus from the stomach relaxes. This causes acid to seep into the esophagus causing heartburn. Heartburn can often make nausea worse. This is worse when you lay flat. When you are lying flat, it makes it easier for the acid to seep into the esophagus.

Another hormone thought to cause morning sickness is Estrogen, the female hormone. Estrogen increases during early pregnancy. The pregnancy hormone beta HCG is thought to be the main cause of morning sickness but it is still unknown as to why this is. This hormone is related to the placenta and its development during the first trimester of the pregnancy.

It is also thought that women who have “weak stomach” will have it worse during the first three months. This is because of bacteria in the stomach called helicobacter pylori. No one knows exactly why this bacteria has anything to do with morning sickness. An increased sense of smell can be the culprit at times. When you are pregnant it seems that everything that has a smell smells ten times stronger and often makes you gag.

Vitamin B Defeciency
Some studies have shown that a vitamin B deficiency may also cause morning sickness, but the studies are not 100% conclusive. They found that taking the vitamin B6 could ease morning sickness. Taking multivitamins before and during pregnancy seem to ease or prevent morning sickness.

Low Blood Pressue & Low Blood Sugar
Other things such as low blood sugar and low blood pressure are also thought to have something to do with morning sickness. Low blood sugar usually happens in the morning because you have not eaten all night. You should snack throughout the day to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Low blood pressure can make you feel nauseated even when you are not pregnant but even worse when you are because of the relaxing effect the hormone progesterone causes.

Electrolyte Imbalance
Morning sickness seems to get worse when there is an electrolyte imbalance. Getting sick and not eating much because of the nausea tends to only make the imbalance worse. Unfortunately, there are many women who tend to experience this vicious circle during what is supposed to be the happiest months of their life.

Stress
Stress may also be a factor in causing morning sickness.

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