So, I’m 14 weeks pregnant and I did something on the way to work the other day that I haven’t done since my college days…

I threw up on someone’s front lawn!!!

My tummy has been a living, breathing Pepto Bismol commercial lately (nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach . . . you get the point).

Well, that was apparently mere child’s play.

I woke up that Tuesday, morning and I felt great! I felt well rested, I brushed my teeth without gagging (which is a feat in itself), and I even managed to eat some toast. I headed out on the road to work, amazed at how well I felt. I made it about 7 minutes down the road when I started gagging uncontrollably. That is not unusual these days, so I thought it would pass. However, it quickly became apparent that this was no false alarm.

I frantically started looking around for a garbage can or a somewhat private place to go but quickly discovered I had no choice but to release the contents of my stomach onto some unsuspecting homeowner’s front lawn.

At that exact moment in time I realized at that I had to investigate what options I had for stopping, or at the very least, controlling this new feature of my pregnancy.

I’ve discovered that there a few things that seem to set my sickness off, including:

• Not getting enough sleep
• Most breakfast foods
• Taking prenatal vitamins on an empty stomach
• Change in motion
• and most recently I’ve discovered flying doesn’t work for me.

Treatments for morning sickness typically aim to reduce the symptoms of nausea, and at this point I’m willing to try anything.

Some tricks that currently work for me are:

• Avoiding an empty stomach – Which can be particularly challenging if nothing seems to want to stay in your stomach.
• Eating dry crackers in the morning.
• Eating five or six small meals per day, rather than three large ones.
• Ginger, in capsules, tea, ginger ale, gingersnaps
• Drinking liquids 30 to 45 minutes after eating solid food.
• Sucking on ice cubes made from water or fruit juice.
• Lemons, particularly the smelling of freshly cut lemons.

Additionally, one of my girlfriend’s recommended Preggie Pops to me. These candies are naturally flavored and designed for pregnant women who are in the same boat as me. I don’t know what makes them work but the sour flavors ease my nausea! On top of the other 10 remedies I follow daily, I now keep a handful of these candies in my desk, purse and on the counter at home.

- Tanya Contributor

Just eight months after the arrival of Jordyn-Grace, Jim and Michelle Dugger have announced that they are expecting Baby #19!

The couple shared the news exclusively with The Today’s Show host Meredith Viera this morning about the surprise pregnancy.

Michelle decided to take a pregnancy test after a weight loss program she is following was not showing results.

Even though baby #19 comes a little ahead of schedule for the family, (their normal spacing is about 18 months) they are still thrilled to add another member to the family.

Michelle also told Meredith she’s dealing with the usual first-trimester nausea.

“I’m feeling sick and tired, which is a good way to be feeling about right now. I always tell myself that’s a good way to be, because that means good things are happening.”

Michelle has now been pregnant 147 months of her life, with five more to go. That’s 12-plus years and counting.

For those who are counting, the Duggars report that they have changed an estimated 90,000 diapers and do approximately 200 loads of laundry a month. They feed their entire family on less than $2,000 a month and say that they live debt-free.

Also on hand for the announcement was the newly married and expecting Josh and Anna Duggar.They are just 6 weeks away from welcoming their first baby, a girl, to be name Mackynzie Renee.

Anna told Meredith, she was feeling good and ‘really pregnant’.

“It’s neat. It’s exciting. I definitely have great role models, and it’s neat to watch Mrs. Duggar teach and love her children.”

Good news for expectant moms who are suffering from morning sickness. Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children’s (SickKids) Motherisk Program have found that morning sickness, which impacts up to 80 per cent of pregnancies, enhances children’s long-term neurodevelopment. The study will appear in the April 23 advance online edition of The Journal of Pediatrics.

This is the first study to assess the direct impact of morning sickness on children’s neurodevelopment. While previous studies suggested an early protective benefit of morning sickness, the long-term effects, including intelligence and specific cognitive skills, had not been directly investigated.

“Our findings suggest an association between NVP and improved neurodevelopment in the offspring,” says Dr. Irena Nulman, lead author of the study. “NVP is a widespread and puzzling physiological phenomenon that has yet to be sufficiently studied,” adds Nulman

Morning sickness may result from an altered secretion of hormones (HCG and thyroxine) during pregnancy. The change in hormone levels happens to ensure adequate placental growth.

For this study, participants were recruited through Motherisk’s NVP hotline database. The research included 121 women who called the hotline from 1998 to 2003. Participants were split into three groups of mother-child pairs: mothers who experienced morning sickness and were treated with diclectin (a drug used to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy); those who experienced morning sickness and did not take diclectin; and those who did not experience morning sickness.

Children aged three to seven years were assessed with standardized age-appropriate psychological tests, including measures of intelligence and behaviour. Other factors such as mother’s IQ, number of cigarettes smoked per day, alcohol consumption and socioeconomic status were also taken into account.

The study showed all children across the three groups scored within the normal ranges for neurodevelopmental outcome. It indicated children of women with morning sickness scored higher on performance IQ, verbal fluency, phonological processing and numerical memory. It also suggested diclectin does not appear to adversely affect fetal brain development. Severity of morning sickness was a significant predictor of higher scores, and maternal IQ also played a role in the outcome.

A number of large studies conducted in various countries have examined the claim, and almost all have found that severe morning sickness could mean you are having a girl.

Specific studies have found that women with morning sickness in the first trimester, and with symptoms so severe that it leads to hospitalization. This condition is known as hyperemesis gravidarum.

Epidemiologists at the University of Washington conducted the most recent study where scientists compared 2,110 pregnant women who were hospitalized with morning sickness in their first trimester and a control group of 9,783 women who did not get severely ill. Researchers found that the women in the first group were more likely to deliver a girl, and that those who were the sickest — hospitalized for three days or more — had the greatest odds: an increase of 80 percent compared with the control women.

Other studies in The Lancet and the journal Epidemiology, among others, have repeated the findings. It is thought that certain hormones produced by female fetuses may be the culprit.

Related Articles:

• Three Pregnancy Foods Myths Explained
• Pregnant? Here Are Some Questions To Ask The Doctor
• Pregnancy And Heartburn

SOURCE

I came across this great article at Havasunews that tries to explain to moms what is true and what is false.

1. Myth Number One: I’m eating for two, so please pass the gravy.

You need to use nutritional common sense throughout your pregnancy,” says Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., and author of “Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy.”

“Although it takes 55,000 extra calories to make a healthy baby, that amounts to just 300 extra calories per day in the last two trimesters. You can easily meet the requirement by eating a couple of healthy snacks throughout the day.”

Interesting fact: Suggested weight gain during pregnancy for a person of normal weight is 25-to-35 pounds. A woman who is considered underweight should put on 28-to-40 pounds, and an overweight person should put on 15-to-25 pounds.

2. Myth Number Two: Fish is a no-no, so I can’t have sushi.

When you are pregnant, many favorite and everyday foods suddenly become off limits – for example, unpasteurized cheeses, caffeinated beverages and deli meats. Many pregnant women think sushi is off limits too, since certain types of fish may contain toxins and pollutants that can be harmful to both mother and baby.

The good new is that moms can there is this great product called Fujisan Sushi. It is the only sushi enriched with life’s DHA — a vegetarian and sustainable source of the omega-3 DHA derived from microalgae, with less risk of contamination. Fujisan Sushi provides 32 mg of this important nutrient per serving and is considered an excellent source of DHA, the primary building block for your baby’s brain, eye and cardiovascular health throughout life.

3. Myth Number Three: Nausea is a given, no matter what I eat.

While it may be common in pregnancy, there are ways to combat nausea. Most of us have heard of tried-and-true remedies such as munching on soda crackers. A limited number of human studies also suggest that one gram daily of ginger may be safe and effective for pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting when used for short periods, according to a report by the University of Maryland Medical Center.

In a small study of 30 pregnant women with severe vomiting, those who ingested one gram of ginger every day for four days reported more relief from vomiting than those who received a placebo. In a larger study including 70 pregnant women with nausea and vomiting, those who received a similar dosage of ginger felt less nauseous and experienced fewer vomiting episodes than those who received a placebo.

*Ginger is a common cooking spice and can be found in foods such as ginger bread and ginger snaps. However, ginger may alter the effects of some prescription and non-prescription medicines, so check with your health care provider first.*

Related Articles:

• Pregnant? Here Are Some Questions To Ask The Doctor
• Canadian Mom Welcomes 18th Baby
• Pregnancy And Heartburn
• Pregnant? Avoid flip-flops!

Fiona Shaw wasn’t so lucky. At five weeks pregnant she had morning sickness so bad, she could barely keep half a biscuit down.

By 28 weeks she had plummeted from a size 14, 170lbs to a size six, 128 lbs.

When an ultrasound revealed that the baby was suffering causing her to need an emergency c-section.

Tianna was born more than two months premature weighing just 2lb 5oz.

At one point the mom-to-be was admitted to hospital with dehydration and blurred vision. “I was diagnosed with hyperemesis, or severe morning sickness, and given anti-sickness drugs and had a scan, but they said everything was all right with the baby,” she said.

Unfortunately, the drugs did not work, and by week ten she was back in hospital.

“It got to the point where just the smell of food made me feel sick,” she said.

At 21 weeks Fiona thought she needed another ultrasound because her weight still falling.

The results were fine, but another scan at 28 weeks in August gave alarming news.

Tianna had barely put on any weight and there seemed to be problems with her heart rate.

Within the hour, the baby was delivered.

Tianna weighs 15lb, and her 5ft 6in mother is back to a healthy weight. SOURCE

That answer is yes according to Dr Green, author of: Dr. Robert Greene’s Perfect Hormone Balance for Pregnancy: A Groundbreaking Plan for Having a Healthy Baby and Feeling Great

He says that:

Keeping a lemon handy at all times and sniffing it when you feel nausea coming on can help curb morning sickness. “The part of our brain that is most directly connected with the nausea center is our sense of smell,” he says.

Just as certain smells make you feel sick during pregnancy, Dr. Greene says the strong, cleansing fragrance of a lemon can rapidly help nausea subside. “If you ignore and don’t correct nausea during the first trimester of pregnancy, that increases the risk of preterm labor and blood pressure problems in the third trimester,” he says.

Related Articles:

• Cruising and Pregnancy
• Need A Pregnancy Pick Me Up? Eat An Apple!

SOURCE