How long does it take to get pregnant to start having morning sickness?

The article was professionally consulted with Doctor Nguyen Thi Man - Obstetrician and Gynecologist - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.

Morning sickness is a combination of unpleasant manifestations occurring in the first 3 months (from 6 to 8 weeks) of pregnancy. Among them, the most prominent symptoms are nausea and vomiting.

Morning sickness will tend to subside after the 12th week and only a few cases persist until the second 3 months of pregnancy.
The cause of morning sickness in pregnancy has so far not found a clear mechanism. Some theories have been put forward to be due to physiological hormonal changes during pregnancy. In particular, when the level of progesterone increases, it will relax the muscles of the digestive system, leading to food in the stomach being pushed up into the esophagus, creating a feeling of nausea. This substance also makes food in the stomach digested more slowly than usual, causing indigestion. In addition, some women have an inherently sensitive nervous system that reacts strongly to changes in the body, especially during pregnancy.

The most common "classic" symptom of morning sickness during pregnancy is a constant feeling of nausea and vomiting. Nausea episodes are often severe in the morning upon awakening, hence the name "morning sickness". Not only that, attacks are also easy to start when experiencing the taste of food, stimulated by light or noise, crowded places...
Because of excessive vomiting, food intolerance, Most women will lose more weight than they did before pregnancy. Even pregnant women cannot drink water, facing the risk of dehydration and electrolyte disturbances of moderate to critical levels.
In addition to vomiting, you may experience loss of appetite, frequent fatigue, lack of energy, inability to focus on anything other than nausea, headache, dizziness, confusion. sleep.

The main measures to help relieve morning sickness during pregnancy for pregnant women are commonly applied in practice: symptomatic treatment, water-electrolyte balance and mental relaxation. Specifically, mothers should refer to and adhere to the following:
3.1. Adjustment of daily activities Identify as removing stimuli that trigger nausea and vomiting, most commonly certain foods or odors.
Split meals, eat as many times as the body feels comfortable. Eat foods that you love and that you like. Should drink a lot of water. Avoid foods high in fat and carbohydrates as they can make morning sickness worse. Supplementing iron tablets with folic acid or essential vitamins and minerals for pregnant women, especially during the period of poor diet due to morning sickness. 3.2. Supplementing with antiemetics When a woman has persistent vomiting and is completely unable to tolerate oral nutrition, antiemetic drugs and temporary intravenous rehydration of fluids, electrolytes, and energy are required. Although the safety and effectiveness of antiemetics in pregnant women are still quite limited, these classes of drugs still prove to be quite advantageous.
However, the choice of which group of drugs is appropriate depends on the doctor's examination. At the same time, pregnant women also need to adhere to the treatment dose to be both effective and to minimize side effects.
3.3. Replenishment of water - electrolytes - energy through infusion Fluids that should be prescribed are those with physiological and biochemical properties similar to the circulating environment in the body, such as 0.9 sodium chloride solution. %, lactate ringer... The amount of fluid and infusion rate should be according to the doctor's orders.
Excessive vomiting can cause loss of electrolytes through vomit, causing hyponatremia, hypokalemia. At this point, the addition of electrolytes can be paralleled with the amount of fluid infusion. Do not increase the concentration of electrolytes too quickly because of the effect on the electrophysiological activity on the cell membrane. At the same time, regularly reassess the effectiveness of the adjustment through necessary tests.

3.4. Vitamin and mineral supplements Wernicke encephalopathy is a possible complication of morning sickness in pregnant women. Although very rare, this complication has serious consequences, but fortunately can be prevented and treated by replacing thiamine in the form of oral preparations and intravenous infusion. This indication should be considered in women with persistent vomiting.
3.5. Natural Herbal Extracts Although morning sickness is easily provoked by certain smells and tastes, certain natural herbs can provide a soothing effect on the senses. Typical among them is ginger.
Folk experience shows that the smell of ginger helps pregnant women feel less excited, less uncomfortable, and more upset in the stomach. What's more, a little ginger tea or a piece of gingerbread cookie was also observed to reduce nausea in pregnant women when compared to a placebo.
3.6. Non-drug treatments A complete convalescence regime, absolutely avoiding stress, anxiety or no longer having to work, thinking will help pregnant women feel comfortable and ease their discomfort. morning sickness.
In addition, some external physical therapies such as acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis, massage, continuous muscle relaxation... are also gradually proving effective in treating morning sickness during pregnancy. .

The first 3 months are the most sensitive time during pregnancy. In order for mother and baby to be healthy, parents need to pay attention to:
Understand early signs of pregnancy, pregnancy poisoning, bleeding during pregnancy. Timely, correct and sufficient first prenatal check-up, avoiding too early/too late. Fetal malformation screening at 12 weeks detects dangerous fetal malformations that can be intervened early. Distinguish between normal vaginal bleeding and pathological vaginal bleeding for timely intervention to maintain pregnancy. Screening for thyroid disease in the first 3 months of pregnancy avoids dangerous risks before and during delivery. Vinmec currently has many maternity packages (12-27-36 weeks), in which the 12-week maternity package helps monitor the health of mother and baby right from the beginning of pregnancy, early detection and timely intervention of health issues. In addition to the usual services, the maternity monitoring program from 12 weeks has special services that other maternity packages do not have such as: Double Test or Triple Test to screen for fetal malformations; Quantitative angiogenesis factor test for preeclampsia; thyroid screening test; Rubella test; Testing for parasites transmitted from mother to child seriously affects the baby's brain and physical development after birth.
For more information about the 12-week maternity package and registration, please contact the hospitals and clinics of Vinmec Health system nationwide.