The Morning Sickness Myth

[augustmom]

in The Pregnancy Book by Dr. Sears, he says that m/s is a sign of a healthy baby. I don't get this correlation, though. First off, I have numerous friends who did not experience m/s and they all have healthy babies. Secondly, m/s is hormonal, not chromosomal.

what are your thoughts?

[Shorin_Mama]

I think it's because morning sickness is beleived to be related to both high hormone levels and an individual's unique physiologic response to hormones.

High hormone levels = everything is progressing normally (were a miscarriage imminent, levels would drop)

Unique response to hormones = everyone's body reacts differently, meaning some people get sick in response to the hormones, some do not.

It's all just theories, except for I remember hearing about a study that correlated morning sickness with a decrease in miscarriage risk. I don't have time to look it up, though.

Jess

[RachelGS]

I'm taking it on faith, myself. I'm sick as a dog and have very high hcg levels, and those facts alone are carrying me through the fact that the baby's heartbeat is a bit on the slow side. I feel really scared and am glad there's something to hang on to as a reason to be hopeful.

[augustmom]

Hi Rachel,

sorry that you're worried. does your mw or dr. think that the baby's heartbeat may increase? are they concerned about it? best wishes.

[RachelGS]

They told me not to over-interpret-- that a 7-week heartbeat is brand new and may very well speed up. The heartbeat is within normal limits, but on the low end, and we saw a deceleration at one point on u/s. It just really scared me.

[*green*faery*]

Hi!
I have read the same thing, that the more sick you get the less likely to mc. I don't know if its true but I have had no "morning sickness" at all and I'm at 7w. I think I'll feel better after my first ultrasound, this Wed. :
*erin*

[allgirls]

I had no morning sickness whatsoever with pregnancy #2....she's almost 11...I was incredibly sick with #1, mildly nauseated for first trimester, completely lost my appetite and had major food aversions for first trimester with #3...with this one, about the same as last time but a wee bit more appetite...I can eat something although today it's waffles, syrup and orange pineapple icecream

[foehnjye]

I never heard that myth. I wouldn't buy it, though. Body responses will vary with each individual. I was never sick with first pregnancy, and I haven't been sick at all with this pregnancy. Many of my friends who gave birth to healthy babies, and even twins, were never sick.

Hormonal effects I can feel include aversions to smells, incredibly sore nipples, and headaches. At 6 weeks my hormone count was 26,000 which is excellent.

For reasons yet to be explained, some bodies just react differently to all those hormones coursing through our veins!

[RachelGS]

There's also HUGE variability in how much hormone you produce. Mine is sky high. The more you make, the sicker you're likely to be-- but the range of what's normal is just enormous.

[Carsonsmama]

Well you want to hear what I was told by a nutritional blood hematologist.....you aren't going to like it if you are in the throws of morning sickness.....so just be forewarned.

She told me that morning sickness is not part of pregnancy and if it was then all females that are pregnant would have it, no exceptions.

She told me that it is actually a sign of unhealthy blood in your body. She said that she has very healthy blood and was never once sick with morning sickness with either of her children.

Now I had bad m/s with the first one and this one is looking to be no better....but according to her I have high yeast levels and need to avoid bread and dairy, which I haven't been doing. I don't like to admit that it is true because with the first one I would have considered myself very healthy and I stil got it...however how would I have known if I had sick blood?

The only reason I took her theory to heart was because I had no explanation why all woman don't get it?

[Mothra]

Carsonsmama-- That explanation doesn't sound reasonable to me at all. Every woman doesn't get pre-eclampsia and hemmroids and sciatic nerve pain but those are all things related to pregnancy. That' just bizarre. So it just so happens that all of these women experience nausea and vomitting while they are pregnant and it really has nothing to do with the pregnancy at all but "sick blood"? What is "sick blood", anyway?

Miscarriage rates are are lower among women who experience morning sickness. That doesn't mean that you can't have a healthy pregnancy without it. Only about 50% of pregnant women experience morning sickness and clearly more than 50% of women deliever healthy babies.

Morning sickness is actually not always related to the hcg level. While it is true that women carrying multiples, who have higher than average hcg levels, are more likely to experience morning sickness, women with levels on the low side of normal experience it, too. No one knows for sure what causes it. There are as many theories as there are pregnant women on the planet.

I had severe hyperemesis three times. I've read everything I could ever get my hands on about morning sickness.

[RachelGS]

That explanation doesn't mesh with the m/s literature out there. Bad blood? Are we going to employ leeches next? From what I've read, hcg level has something to do with it, but mostly it's about sensitivity to hcg. Some women are more sensitive to it than others; if you're sensitive to it, you're going to feel worse.

[Mothra]

It definitely seems to be tied to how a woman's body responds to the hormonal changes. With my first two I had very high hcg levels-- so high that I had early ultrasounds to make sure there was just one fetus. With my last my levels were on the low side of normal at first. I was sickest with my first and last, my middle pregnancy was the mildest as far as the hyperemesis went. Hyperemesis is likely caused by something different than morning sickness, but in the very beginnning it feels the same.

[Carsonsmama]

Like I said it's just what she told me....
I will say it kind of takes the whining out of my sails! I mean you can't whine about something you did to yourself.
Like I said she just told me that I had too much yeast in my body which is also why I have headaches, poor digestion, and low energy levels etc....
It is the pregnancy that is gives you those symptoms but if you didn't already have issues with your blood then you wouldn't be experiencing them. You see? She is saying that the pregnancy is just adding to your already impared body.
I definitely wasn't saying I believed her, I was just telling what I was told.

She also told my dad who has DANGEROUSLY high blood pressure and has been told by several DR that they are surprised he has not dropped dead yet....that the pills she has given him are working and breaking up the fat in his body.... Thus the nosebleeds that he is getting that are lasting all night are a good thing!! :

[merpk]

Sorry to intrude where I don't technically belong but just from my personal experience, my early losses (and I've had several) happened during totally nonsick/no morning sickness pregnancies. My morning sickness varied with my successful pregnancies (I have 4 children, b'H) ... with one of them I lost almost 20 pounds in my first trimester, as an example, and with another it was just general nausea, very little actual vomiting, and I could eat just in the morning, anything after made me feel ill ... anyway, it was all over the map.

The one consistency is that my losses were pregnancies with absolutely no discomfort whatsoever. My later loss was also a discomfort-free pregnancy up to that point.

Different people, different body chemistry, different experiences.

But it's not myth.

[freestyler]

Well, this is my fourth baby and the only one I did NOT have morning sickness with was my second---my little boy. This time I was really sick for the first and much of the second trimester, and then I've been sick LOTS this last trimester too. Gads, I cannot even show my face downstairs until I know that everyone is done eating in the morning. The sight of food before noon (especially protein) makes me wanna heave.

LOL I think morning sickness is related to gender. I must be having another girl LOL.

If anyone told me morning sickness was a myth, it would make my blood boil I'd be so pissed. THEN we'd be talkin' bad blood!!

[Rach]

I had all day nausea with my daughter into the beginning of the second tri.
I had mild nausea in the beginning of this pregnancy [before I tested].
This pregnancy has been healthier than my first. Yes, my daughter came out healthy, but she also came out small and early due to pih/preeclampsia.

I don't know if I believe that myth necessarily. Not every woman/pregnancy is text book!!

[Aka mommy]

I think that by saying ms is realted to a healtheir pregnancy is not saying a healthier child or mom. ITs more so linked to better chances of the pregnancy sticking. Personally this holds true. My DD gave me the joys of hyperemesis and had not a single scare with her. This one has had only mild morning sickness and we have experienced 2 miscarraige scares (bleeding before 6 weeks and then at 20 weeks losing my plug and leaking). So for me it holds true. But i also agree that each body is different and some women are just more prone to reacting to the hormones.

For example, not every woman can be on the birth control pill. I am one who cannot as i experience similar symtpoms to morning sickness while on it. The hormones in it are just too much for my system and it makes me incredibly sick. So i think each woman will respond differently and im sure there are women out there who have experienced ms and still mc. I think instead of figuring out WHY we get ms these docs should be trying to figure out how to cure the blasted ms!!!!

[elizaveta]

I can't say much but my Mother In-law used to say the same thing when I was going through the morning sickness stage. She said at least I know that the baby will be okay. My Cousin In-Law was had her baby in May and she never suffered any morning sickness at all. Though she did have problems towards the end. Though I'm not exactly sure what it was. Something about losing too much blood. (Btw, we don't live near eachother or speak that often so I just sort of heard it through a chain and the story got changed alot.) I haven't had any serious complications or anything and the baby has looked healthy. The only thing I'm worried about is her being abnormally.... strong. She is one strong kicker! :LOL