Coping with Morning Sickness and other First Trimester Annoyances

So you're pregnant! You may be overjoyed to hear the news or like many women may feel ambivalent and not be sure how you feel about being pregnant. On top of all these emotions you end up throwing up every morning and most of the day making the thought of being pregnant even harder to deal with. Not to mention you are tired all the time, your breasts hurt, and you are peeing every five minutes.  Here is a breakdown of what all these symptoms mean and why you have to go through them:

Nausea and vomiting -- This is caused by the high levels of hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). This is the pregnancy hormone. The good news is all that morning sickness means that your hormone levels are right on track to keep you pregnant and studies show that women who have nausea and/or vomiting are less likely to miscarry.

Being tired -- The cause of this is unknown but is thought to be caused by the change in hormones in your body. Some women may also experience some shortness of breath during this time which is normal.

Peeing ALOT -- This is also due to the changes in hormones during your first trimester (later on in pregnancy as the baby gets bigger your uterus presses on your bladder causing more trips to the bathroom)

Breast tenderness -- This is caused by the changes in your breast that occur to prepare your body for breastfeeding and producing milk. Your breast start to become larger and are more sensitive.

So what can I do to get some relief you say??

The good news is that for most women these annoying symptoms do get better around 12-14 weeks when you begin to enter your second trimester of pregnancy. Here are some helpful tips to get you through the next month or two.

The nausea and vomiting is usually what interferes with normal daily life. So getting that under control is usually the most important thing to many women. Starting with simple measures like keeping something in your stomach at all times and avoiding the extremes of having nothing in your stomach and being too full. This is when many women become nauseous.

• Keep crackers at the bedside and try to eat a few before getting out of bed in the morning.
•  Avoid being around any heavy odors when you feel like you might lose it at any moment. 
• You can also try any type of ginger product. Ginger has been shown to reduce nausea in many studies. Many health food stores carry ginger tea, ginger chews or candy, ginger ale, etc. Make sure these are made with real ginger. 
• Vitamin B6 50mg at bedtime and if needed in the morning is also a natural alternative to decreasing nausea. 

There is probably little that you can do to reduce the tiredness that you feel. Again rest assured that this will also get better soon. For now, take frequent rest periods, eat healthy, and do some mild low impact exercise. It will get better!!

To avoid being up all night going to the bathroom, try to limit how much fluid you drink right before bedtime. Remember you need at least 8-10 glasses of water each day now that your pregnant.

Breast soreness can be decreased by wearing a supportive bra and avoiding stimulation if it is uncomfortable.

I hope this information helps to make your first trimester a little more comfortable.
Congratulations on beginning your journey to motherhood!