How soon can you have morning sickness

Researchers from the University of Warwick have narrowed the time frame that nausea and vomiting during pregnancy will potentially start to just three days for most women, opening up the possibility for scientists to identify a biological cause for the condition.

By measuring the onset of symptoms from a woman's date of ovulation for the first time, rather than last menstrual period, they have demonstrated that symptoms start earlier in pregnancy than previously thought, and within a smaller time frame.

Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, often referred to as pregnancy sickness, which usually ends by 12 -14 weeks of pregnancy is experienced by most women during pregnancy although some will experience it more severely, as in the case of hyperemesis gravidarm when the symptoms can continue throughout the pregnancy. The cause has historically often been seen as psychological but this latest study reinforces the view that the cause is biological and is linked to a specific developmental stage of pregnancy.

Researchers from Warwick Medical School and the Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick have drawn their conclusions from a unique dataset collected at the Clearblue Innovation Centre, by SPD Development Company Ltd. Their results, published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, identify a specific time period during pregnancy that could point scientists to an anatomical or biochemical cause for the condition.

The date of a woman's last menstrual period is commonly used to measure the start of pregnancy, but their date of ovulation is thought to be a more accurate starting point as menstrual cycles can vary greatly between individuals, and even between cycles for the same individual.

The researchers used data from daily symptom diaries kept by 256 pregnant women to compare the start of their nausea and vomiting symptoms to the date of their last menstrual period and date of ovulation, as determined by a urine test.

Using their date of ovulation as the start of pregnancy most women experienced the first symptoms of pregnancy sickness after 8 to 10 days, compared to 20 to 30 days if measured from their last menstrual period. This not only demonstrated that pregnancy sickness starts earlier than previous research has shown, but has also shown that using date of ovulation narrows the time frame that symptoms start to 3 days, compared to 11 days if last menstrual period is used.

Lead author Professor Roger Gadsby of Warwick Medical School said: "The precise course of pregnancy sickness is unknown, but this research shows that it occurs at a specific developmental stage, in a specific timeslot.

"For researchers it narrows our focus in terms of where we look for the cause. If we know that symptoms occur in a very narrow window 8-10 days after ovulation, researchers can concentrate their efforts on that particular stage of development to find the cause of the condition, both anatomically and biochemically.

"In the past, women suffering with nausea and vomiting in pregnancy have had their symptoms trivialised and overlooked because it was thought there was a psychological basis for the symptoms. This research further reinforces that nothing could be further from the truth, that this is a biological problem related to the development of the early fetus."

The research also found that 94% of women experienced symptoms of pregnancy sickness, a higher proportion than previous research that generally calculates the proportion as closer to 80%. This is likely to be because data was regularly collected from participants before they became pregnant up to 60 days after last menstrual period, while most other studies ask women to recall their symptoms after they have become pregnant.

Professor Roger Gadsby adds: "What we've shown is that more people get symptoms of pregnancy sickness than has ever been shown before, and one of the reasons for that is that this research has picked up mild early symptoms that tend to fade by 7-8 weeks. In other studies those symptoms would have faded by the time the research started."

Previous research by the same team has demonstrated that the term 'morning sickness' is misleading as nausea and vomiting can occur at any time of day, and argues that 'nausea and sickness in pregnancy' or 'pregnancy sickness' is more appropriate and avoids trivialising the condition.

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Materials provided by University of Warwick. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

• What Is Morning Sickness?
  • What is morning sickness?
• Signs and Symptoms
  • Signs and symptoms of morning sickness
• Causes
  • Causes of morning sickness
• When to See a Doctor
  • When to see the doctor for morning sickness
• Diagnosis
  • Diagnosing morning sickness
• Treatments
  • Treatments for morning sickness
• Related Resources
  • Related Resources - How Soon Can You Get Morning Sickness?

What is morning sickness?

Morning sickness is a common side effect in pregnancy. Morning sickness occurs in the first trimester and can be an early sign of pregnancy.

Morning sickness is a common side effect of pregnancy. Sometimes you can get morning sickness before you know you are pregnant. Typically, morning sickness starts in the sixth week of pregnancy which is about two weeks after your first missed period. About 70% of women experience morning sickness in their first trimester of pregnancy.

A common misconception about morning sickness is due to its name. Morning sickness can actually occur during any time of day. Morning sickness has been described to feel like seasickness. While it starts as early as the sixth week, it usually goes away by the 12th or 14th week, once you’ve reached the second trimester.

Morning sickness is caused by changing hormone levels and a heightened sense of smell. This can cause you to develop an aversion to certain scents and smells. Morning sickness can linger throughout the first trimester, making you feel constantly queasy, triggered by specific smells.

Signs and symptoms of morning sickness

Morning sickness occurs in the first trimester and can be an early sign that you are pregnant. When you get morning sickness, it can last and occur longer than just the morning. Common symptoms of morning sickness include: 

Nausea and queasiness

Nausea is the main symptom of morning sickness. It can occur after you eat, when you smell specific scents, or remain throughout the day. Sometimes your nausea and queasiness can be so strong, usually in the morning, that it leads to vomiting. 

Aversions to certain smells

Some scents may seem so powerful to you that they become overwhelming and can lead to nausea or vomiting. This can be food, perfume, or other strong scents. This is unique to each person and will develop as your pregnancy progresses. 

Seasick feeling

Before you know that you’re pregnant, you might not understand why you are feeling seasick or carsick. This feeling may also be accompanied by hunger pains. 

Causes of morning sickness

Morning sickness is a side effect of pregnancy but not all women get morning sickness and not all morning sickness occurs in the morning. Doctors do not know specifically what causes morning sickness but they do suspect some causes, such as: 

Hormones

Doctors believe that the increase of hormones can cause morning sickness. The pregnancy hormone hCG reaches its highest level when morning sickness is at its worst. The increase of estrogen and progesterone can also make it hard for your body to digest food properly.

Sensitivity 

Some people are more sensitive to nausea and an upset stomach which can make them more likely to have vomiting during pregnancy. If you have a sensitive stomach, you are more likely to experience morning sickness in your first trimester than those who don’t have a sensitive stomach. 

Stress

Emotional stress can cause gastrointestinal problems, and when you are pregnant, you are more prone to morning sickness when you are stressed. 

When to see the doctor for morning sickness

Morning sickness is a normal part of early pregnancy. There are methods of coping you can do at home. But if you are vomiting and your morning sickness is accompanied by the following symptoms you should schedule an appointment with your doctor immediately:

• Dark-colored urine or have not peed in more than 8 hours
• Blood or pain when you pee
• Unable to keep food or fluids down for 24 hours
• Feel weak, dizzy, or faint when standing up
• Abdominal pain
• Weight loss

These may be signs of a urine infection or dehydration and should be treated quickly. 

Diagnosing morning sickness

If you feel like you’re going to vomit or are vomiting constantly and visit your doctor, they will diagnose you with morning sickness. They do not need to run tests to determine you have morning sickness. If you have morning sickness before you know you are pregnant the doctor may run a blood test to confirm your pregnancy.

Treatments for morning sickness

Morning sickness will usually go away on its own after your first trimester of pregnancy. There are treatments you can do at home to alleviate your nausea and reduce the morning sickness. These remedies include: 

• Taking prenatal vitamins
• Vitamin B6
• Eating small meals throughout the day to ease digestion
• Avoiding spicy or greasy meals
• Getting plenty of rest
• Drinking plenty of fluids
• Pregnancy supplements

If your morning sickness is severe, you can talk to your doctor about Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medication for reducing nausea during pregnancy. Do not take medication during pregnancy unless it has been approved by your doctor. 

QUESTION

Medically Reviewed on 1/22/2021

References

SOURCES:

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: "What causes morning sickness (nausea and vomiting during pregnancy)?"

American Family Physician: "Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy."

American Pregnancy Association: "Morning Sickness Remedies."

FamilyDoctor.org: "Morning Sickness."

Frontiers in Psychology: "Pregnancy and olfaction: A review."

Health Partners: "Morning sickness: When does it start and what can I do about it?"

NHS: "Vomiting and morning sickness in pregnancy."

Sanford Health: "How to enjoy, not just endure, morning sickness."

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