Month four

You’ve heard morning sickness will pass by the end of the first trimester. If you’re unlucky, it’s been afternoon and evening sickness too. But then the end of the first trimester comes and goes… and you’re still hugging the toilet bowl. What’s going on?

When morning sickness just won’t stop

You may, unfortunately, be one of a minority of women for whom morning sickness is caused by something other than increased hormone levels, which is thought to be the most common cause of nausea during early pregnancy. Oddly enough, for something so common, the exact cause of morning sickness isn’t known. However, most experts believe that nausea during early pregnancy is due to an increased level of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is highest in the first trimester of pregnancy. “Nausea does typically disappear between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy, as HCG levels fall,” explains midwife Heather Pieterse from Pretoria-based Midwives Exclusive. So why, then, do some women experience morning sickness well into their second trimester? Each case is different, says Heather, but some factors that could be making you nauseous include changes in

metabolism, low blood pressure, unhealthy eating habits and underlying emotional problems. It could also be the result of a shortage of Vitamin B6. Or, on the flip side, your vitamin supplements could be the cause of your morning sickness. “Try stopping your supplements for a few days to see if it makes a difference,” suggests Heather. “If it does, then move to another brand. In rare cases, some women may even have to stop taking supplements completely and rather focus on eating very healthily throughout their pregnancy.” Your prolonged morning sickness may even be genetic, suggests a 2010 study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Researchers from the University of California found that women whose family members had prolonged morning sickness were 17 percent more likely to also have morning sickness into the second trimester of pregnancy. No matter the cause, if you’re experiencing nausea and/or vomiting into the second or even third trimester, Heather says it’s best to visit your healthcare practitioner for a full check-up. The worst-case scenario would be that you’re suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which is the severe and persistent morning sickness that landed the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton in hospital during both her pregnancies. But, considering this only affects less than two percent of all pregnancies, you’re far more likely to be suffering from “normal” prolonged morning sickness. Here’s the (possible) upside of that: a 2014 study by Canadian researchers from the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto suggests that women who suffered more from morning sickness tended to have healthier babies who went on to score higher in IQ tests when tested between the ages of three to seven years. Before you go around telling everyone your prolonged nausea means you’re carrying the next Albert Einstein, bear in mind the lead author of the study emphasised that “this hypothesis has not been proven to date”. But it doesn’t hurt to think it while you’re feeling so awful!

MOST EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT NAUSEA DURING EARLY PREGNANCY IS DUE TO AN INCREASED LEVEL OF THE HORMONE HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN (HCG), WHICH IS HIGHEST IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY.