Often morning sickness is one of the first clues a woman has that she is pregnant. This is often accompanied by deep fatigue and both can last till week 12-14 of the pregnancy.
There are different points of view on why this is such a normal part of pregnancy.
The most common is that there is a deficiency of some kind-such as Vitamin B, anemia, nutritional deficits, and or possibly hormone levels are out of balance.
Another idea is that its purpose to encourage stillness and rest at a time when the fetus is at a very vulnerable stage in its gestation. Feeling awful would certainly help to slow the woman down enough to allow for this.
Lastly, the strong aversions to foods and/or substances likely occur to keep mom away from food and substances that could be harmful to the fetus.
In Chinese Medicine, we believe that how a woman feels during her pregnancy depends on her own stores of energy- which include Qi, blood and nutrients. These are all heavily drawn on in that first trimester and if these stores are weak the expected mother is likely to have more symptoms in the first trimester.
Acupuncture is a very effective modality for treating and preventing morning sickness. In one study carried out, pregnant women who received weekly acupuncture treatment over a four-week period reported less nausea and dry retching compared to the women who didn’t receive treatment
We see great results in our clinic and use a combination of well-known acupuncture points for nausea along with points that treat the individuals constitution.
We also recommend the following to do yourself to help relieve or reduce morning sickness:
- Never let yourself get too hungry. Always carry a snack with you that contains some type of protein or fat. Carbohydrates are great and most likely what mom is craving but protein and fat help keep blood sugar stable and are better in the long run.
- Include beans into your diet. Molybdenum has been shown to help with morning sickness it is an essential trace mineral found in high concentrations in all beans.
- Herbs- there are simple herbs you can take at home that may help improve nausea.
- If you typically run cold ginger is a good choice. Ginger candy, teas or even capsules can be used.
- If you tend to run warm, instead try peppermint or peach leaf tea
- Other herbs that can settle the stomach are cardamon, fennel, anise, chamomile, and lavender
- Homeopathics- Homeopathics can be safely used in pregnancy the most common used for nausea include:
- 1Pecac 30x
- -Nux Vomica 6x
- -Cannabis 30x
- -Pulsatilla 30x
- -Apo-storm.
5. Vitamin B6- Studies suggest that taking vitamin B6 for morning sickness greatly improves nausea, though not vomiting, for many pregnant women. There has been no sign of harm to the fetus with vitamin B6 use. A typical dose of vitamin B6 for morning sickness is 10 mg to 25 mg, 3 times a day.