Morning Sickness

Morning sickness myths

Pregnancy is often a time when you will hear all sorts of information from well-wishers. But you can’t trust every old wives’ tale you hear. Morning sickness is definately one of those areas that has it’s share of partial truths. Here are four common myths you should know.
1. If you don’t have morning sickness, then you are having a boy [or a girl].

There is no indication that morning sickness means you are having a girl or a boy. There are only a few sure ways to know if you are having a girl or a boy, particularly an ultrasound exam or amniocentesis test.

2. Morning sickness means you are having a healthy pregnancy.

The myth is that if you do not have morning sickness, then something is wrong with your pregnancy. Not true. The reasons for morning sickness are still not completely understood, but it is thought to have something to do with hormone levels. The presence or lack of morning sickness does not indicate a good or bad pregnancy. To know if you are having a healthy pregnancy you should be checking in with a health care provider periodically.

3. If I throw up a lot, it will hurt my baby.

If you are having a difficult time with morning sickness, you may feel this way. But vomiting, even hard, will not hurt your baby. In fact, your baby is completely safe, even if you throw up four times today. The contractions caused by vomiting cannot hurt your fetus because it is very well protected inside the uterus in the cushion of amniotic fluid.

4. With all this vomiting, my baby won’t get the nutrients that he needs.

This is mostly false. If you are taking care of yourself during pregnancy, taking prenatal vitamins, and eating a balance diet, you and baby should be OK. Even with some throwing up, your body is still be able to get enough nutrients from what you don’t throw up to keep your baby healthy. As long as you can keep some fluids down, you both are in good shape. Just eat when you feel able.

Morning sickness can become a problem for your baby if you can’t keep any foods, can’t keep fluids down and you begin to lose weight. When morning sickness is severe it is called hyperemesis gravidarum. If it gets this bad, you must check with your doctor.

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