Why do Pregnant women get morning sickness?

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Why do Pregnant women get morning sickness?

Morning sickness is very common for pregnant women in their first trimester. Some women may have it, some may not. In medical terms, it is called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy” or NVP. Symptoms are worst during the morning and will ease up over the course of the day but it can also strike anytime and for most women, will last all day long.

A certain study conducted by two evolutionary biologists namely Samuel M. Flaxman and Paul W. Sherman, reports that morning sickness is very beneficial to the mother and her baby. It protects the mother and the developing embryo from foods that may contain harmful toxins and microorganisms that could probably sicken the mother and damage the fetus during the development stage when it is most vulnerable to chemicals.

Supporting this theory, they discovered that nausea and vomiting rate declined after 18 weeks of pregnancy. That is the time when the fetus becomes less susceptible to the effects of chemical disruptions.

Here are some theories which can somewhat explain the causes of ‘morning sickness’.

Increased Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) and Estrogen. This type of hormone rapidly increases during pregnancy. It is said that nausea tends to peak around during the same time as levels of hCG. Increase levels of Estrogen hormone is another cause. During pregnancy, Estrogen levels increase by 100 times and this heightened amount may cause morning sickness.

Increase in acidity level. Too many acids can also cause nausea and vomiting. This is due to the increase in the progesterone level of your body. This hormone relaxes your muscles in the uterus to prevent you from a pre-mature birth. But, because of this rising, your stomach and intestines are so relaxed resulting in too much acid build up.

Oversensitivity to odor. During pregnancy, a woman’s senses are heightened. This includes her sense of smell. Odors which are too strong to bear can cause a woman to get nauseous. Certain aromas can instantly trigger her gag reflex causing her to vomit.

In conclusion, Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) or ‘morning sickness’ happens because of a lot of reasons but the best reason is because of the mother’s initial body reaction to protect the her baby.

Author: joanna

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