Pregnancy is not, by default, a licence to suffer from morning sickness symptoms. Migraine sufferers appear to be in a higher risk group for morning sickness than normal but most woman, whatever their health record, will suffer symptons closely akin to those of travel sickness to a higher or lower degree. Typically these symptoms will include an inability to hold down food and mild to severe nausea.

Typical histories indicate morning sickness symptoms starting to alleviate around the end of the first trimester and coinciding with a cessation of fluctuating hormone levels. The cause is still a mystery, but popular researcher opinion tends to point to hormonal changes as the match that lights the fuse of morning sickness and heartburn.

Another theory holds that an enhanced set of senses during pregnancy, most notably those of smell and taste, can trigger an attack of nausea which would not be experienced in the same circumstances prior to the onset of  pregnancy. Or what of stress and fatigue – two  typical companions of pregnancy? Certainly avoiding these two brings some reported relief, even if in delaying the onset of morning sickness symptoms.

The term morning sickness is a misnomer as many victims experience the symptoms throughout their day, potentially starting when the stomach is empty within 2 weeks of conception. For supplying this early warning signal, morning sickness is one of the most reliable early harbingers of pregnancy.

Contrary to what you may feel at the time of suffering morning sickness symptoms, your baby will not be harmed by them as millions of mothers will attest, so this fear should not be a stress factor and should be discarded as such. try and adopt a practical approach to combating your symptoms, hard as this may seem whilst an attack is underway.

Never forget though that a severe attack, with concomitant loss of fluids and depletion of electrolytes, can harm both yourself and your baby, so take immediate steps to gain relief if symptoms become truly severe, even to the extent of seeking medical help.

Some practical day to day ways of relieving morning sickness include a visit to your doctor before you start ingesting any medication, eating small and frequent snacks, drinking ginger tea and snacking from a suitable bedside supply prior to rising for the day.