What is morning sickness?
Nobody knows why the first sign of pregnancy for many mums-to-be is an early morning dash to the bathroom. During pregnancy, up to 80 per cent of women will feel sick, with half of all women experiencing vomiting or retching at some point. So if you spend your early weeks of pregnancy feeling anything but blooming, you're not alone.
Morning sickness is the most common medical condition of early pregnancy. How bad the sickness is varies from woman to woman. You may get the odd bout of mild queasiness when you first wake up, or certain smells might trigger your nausea throughout the day. Or you may have to endure weeks or even months of feeling or being sick.
Morning sickness is not the most accurate term for what most women experience. You may feel more sick in the morning, but nausea can strike at any time of the day or night. Morning sickness can take over your life while you have it. If you get it badly you may find yourself unable to work. You may also find it difficult to care for your other children, cook, shop, or do everyday chores.
You may think that you should be feeling happy and excited about your pregnancy and not miserable and ill. This may put a strain on your relationships with your partner, family and friends.
If you have unrelenting morning sickness you may feel that nobody really understands what you're going through. Unsurprisingly, this can lead to depression, but rest assured that there is help available. Talking to a fellow sufferer can help you to feel less alone.
The most severe form of morning sickness is hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which means excessive vomiting in pregnancy. If you're vomiting many times a day, unable to eat and drink without being sick and losing weight, you probably have HG.
Unlike normal morning sickness, HG can affect you and your baby's health unless it is treated. So talk to your doctor or midwife as soon as you can.