What nobody tells you about morning sickness!

Supporting Podcast Episode

It’s estimated that 70-80% of mothers experience morning sickness in early pregnancy lasting until around week 14. Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) which is severe nausea and vomiting is estimated to occur in 2% of pregnant women. Isn’t it interesting that pregnancy would make us sick? Wouldn’t it be much better for humanity to have a blissful experience? Let’s dive deeper….

Let’s begin at the severe end of the spectrum to end on a more gentle note, HG is the most common cause for hospitalization in mothers in early pregnancy! As I connected to mothers to find out about their experience, I was brought back down to earth with a thud as I felt into the pain and suffering that HG brings. Morning sickness is something that is almost expected with pregnancy, and even mocked. I think it is important to spotlight this subject as this is a time when mothers need support and compassion, and a chance to be held and seen. Not only does it put tremendous strain on the mothers physical body but also on her mental and emotional body which ripples into every aspect of their lives.

Imagine being so debilitated that you can’t find the strength to get out of bed, you can’t think straight, you feel the guilt of resenting the pregnancy and you feel unable to bond with your baby. It has even been shown that women with HG have a higher rate of post traumatic stress symptoms in postpartum. In some cases mothers have been neglected by the system and HG isn’t taking seriously making mothers feel they just cannot go on with the pregancy and choose to have an abortion. HG can lead to several serious maternal complications, including severe dehydration, nutritional deficiency, and multiple electrolytes imbalances. Some mothers have reported vomiting up to 50 times a day. NO mother should ever be judged for her decision, but EVERY mother should be taken seriously when she reaches out for help.

I spoke to one mother who had been attending a fertility clinic for 2 years, when she finally conceived she was struck with HG, she felt heart broken as she ‘should’ have been rejoicing yet she was resenting her pregnancy and pushing her partner away

“Everyday I vomited. I was so sick nothing could help me. I even broke my water from the amount of force from vomiting. Ewww so awful. They tried to put me on Zofran*, this was before I knew anything about really doing anything holistic. I hated being on it because it made me feel so disgusting and it didn't really help me anyway. I just suffered in silence really. Just stayed sick, and because of that it really made me so depressed.” - MoonyMama (Mothers Circle Member)

*Ondansetron, sold under the brand name Zofran among others, is a medication used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery. It is also effective for treating gastroenteritis.Zofran (ondansetron) works by blocking the actions of serotonin, a natural substance in your body, that may cause nausea and vomiting.

Food for thought!

I’ve read so many theories around morning sickness and HG, there is no record of any other mammal having morning sickness, which also leads me to think about our mind and how we are navigating our stress levels. I say this with curiosity because even in the healthiest of mothers, there are still reports of morning sickness. But, what’s going on in the subconscious mind, the baggage we carry underneath all that is visible, the wounds of our ancestors, the fears of our mothers. Taking the time to heal something that’s very obvious is different from surrendering to the deeper healing of your unconscious, and maybe, just maybe, this is what is happening during the collapse of reality when morning sickness strikes.

I read about morning sickness being managed in Africa by ingesting clay because it would satisfy “mineral deficiency” . This is for pure interest reasons, I wouldn't recommend buying a block of art clay to try and I am very sorry if this has brought on a new craving.

Can stress contribute to morning sickness? When you experience stress, your body releases cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Stress hormones are released to support you in times of danger. Your heart begins to beat harder and faster to all the areas of your body which will support you, but away from your stomach as digestion is not essential at times of survival.

Not only this, progesterone relaxes the smooth muscle tissues often causing slowing of digestion in the stomach and the small and large intestines.

In another interesting article they looked deeper at different hypotheses around morning sickness, taking into account research that was available at the time. Here’s a few that stood out:

1. Morning sickness protects the embryo by causing pregnant women to physically expel and subsequently avoid foods that contain teratogenic and abortifacient chemicals, especially toxic chemicals in strong-tasting vegetables, caffeinated beverages and alcohol. As symptoms peak when embryonic organogenesis is most susceptible to chemical disruption (weeks 6-18). The research here also shows that women who experience morning sickness are significantly less likely to miscarry than women who do not (from 9 of 9 studies)

2. Women who consumed primarily maze diets were less likely to experience morning sickness. Animal products may be dangerous to pregnant women and their embryos because they often contain parasites and pathogens, especially when stored at room temperatures in warm climates.

3. An indicator to potential sexual partners and kin that the woman is pregnant, resulting in reduced sexual behavior.

But why the sickness?

The chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) is situated outside of the blood brain barrier and when stimulated, vomiting may occur. Examples:

• Motion sickness, initiated in the ear

• Back of the throat stimulation (gag reflex)

• The nervous system around the gut sends signals via the vagus nerve. (some known stimulants radiation therapy, chemotherapy and gastroenteritis)

• Dopamine receptors are activated by stress

The good news is, although you may be feeling terrible, in most cases the baby will be taking everything that it needs. The risk is very small, unless in chronic untreated cases of HG which is exactly why we’re addressing this topic.

When is it dangerous?

• If you are not able to keep any liquids or foods down for 24 hours

• If you are vomiting several times a day or after every meal

• If you have abdominal pain, difficulty urinating, or you have a fever

• IF YOU BELIEVE THAT IT IS HARMING YOU OR YOUR BABY

Just, remember YOU MATTER!

Supporting yourself through these times.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the mother and baby are both cared for as a unit, as the mothers immune system is lower at this time, it is important to take special care. A regime is recommended with emphasis on the diet. Not only is it important to be receiving good quality nutrients but also to be absorbing them efficiently, this comes down to your gut microbiome. Your gut microbiome weighs about 2kg and is bigger than the average human brain. It’s a bustling community of trillions of bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses, containing at least 150 times more genes than the human genome…WOW!. So, along with adaptations in your diet, acupuncture can also help to bring harmony to your gut. Interestingly enough Estrogen and progesterone impact the composition of the gut microbiome through their effect on bacterial metabolism and growth and virulence of pathogenic bacteria (Mulak et al., 2014). I could go on forever with this topic, but I will bring it back for now!

Here are a few ways to improve gut microbiome :

• Pre- and probiotics (Eat more prebiotic foods – such as legumes, onions, asparagus, oats, bananas, and others)

• Fermented foods rich in probiotics and enzymes (such as yogurt, kefir, and miso)

• Make time for quality sleep / reduce stress levels

Other holistic practices which may support you at this time. It’s worth a try, right?!

• Snack, eat when you feel you can eat

• Let others prepare your food, as the smell can be triggering

• Stay hydrated, have a seal flask to reduce the smell and mis it up every day. Be sure to add juices, salt, fruits to introduce more sugars, electrolytes and minerals

• Prenatal Vitamins, take when you can it doesn’t have to be in the morning

• Ginger supplements

• Don’t wait, stay on top of practices that help you

• Gentle breathwork

• Fresh air

• Gentle intentional movements

• Meditation

• Acupuncture

• Hypnosis

Medication

Did you know in the 1950’s Thalidomide, a sedative drug was prescribed to many pregnant women in order to relieve pregnancy nausea. It was later found that thalidomide caused irreversible damages to the fetus and thousands of children were born with severe congenital malformations. Many of them did not survive more than a few days after they were born.

I am not advocating that you do not take any medications, I am offering you an insight into a small glimpse of what I can see from all slides on this topic. Being completely debilitating, to the point of questioning an abortion of a planned or unplanned pregnancy, requires deep compassion and gentleness. There are a number of holistic practices worth exploring to complement or eliminate medical interventions.

My experience. In my first trimester I was living in France and eating a lot of heavy foods, my stress levels were high due to big life decisions I was expected to make. I was running retreats and classes back to back, whilst managing the retreat centre, I was exhausted! My old coping mechanism made a reappearance, binge eat to distract from my emotions followed by tremendous guilt. It brought up a lot for me but I was ready to put a stop to this. I opened up to Ilan who supported me and helped me to be with the emotions that came up, although he was going through a lot himself, with the surprise pregnancy, he still anchored in to make sure I felt safe and support. Something happened over this time which has transformed my relationship with food and the way I relate to emotions in my body. Arriving in Costa Rica at around 16 weeks I was ready for a fresh start, the heaviness lifted and I melted in to pregnancy.

Thank you so much for reading, I would love to hear about your experience (comment below).

Deepest blessings,

Danielle