Is Morning Sickness Good for My Baby?
Posted on Dec 8, 2011 | Morning Sickness News Category | | Print This Article
We all know that morning sickness is not the most fun part of pregnancy. But is it good for your baby? Research seems to indicate that it might actually be a positive sign.
For a long time, it was widely believed that morning sickness was caused by a sort of competition between your body and your developing baby’s body for the nutrients you take in. However, recent studies seem to offer a better explanation.
One recent study conducted at the University of California-Berkeley suggests that the reason for all of those early morning runs to the sink is important. According to the research, morning sickness may protect your baby from toxins in your food. Small traces of toxin which may not be harmful to an adult could be very harmful to a developing baby if not expelled. The study seeks to show how morning sickness is an important adaptation to pregnancy rather than just a symptom or byproduct.
Sign that your pregnancy is progressing normally
Aside from the fact that your morning sickness may be shielding your baby from harmful substances in your food, it serves another useful purpose. Mothers and health care professionals have long held that morning sickness is a positive sign that your pregnancy is progressing just as it should. That doesn’t mean the absence of morning sickness is bad, of course. There’s no evidence to suggest that not having morning sickness is in any way dangerous or a sign of danger.
Unless you have severe nausea or vomiting, morning sickness is nothing to worry about. In most cases, it will only last a month or two.
Coping with morning sickness
Just because it won’t hurt you and is apparently beneficial for your baby doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything to help yourself feel better. At least one of the best cures for morning sickness – ginger- appears to have health benefits for you and the baby beyond helping you keep your breakfast down.
In addition, most of the dietary and lifestyle suggestions given to help you cope with morning sickness are healthy for you at other times as well. Drinking lots of water, light exercise, and avoiding overly spicy foods can be beneficial even when you’re not pregnant.
So, cope with it as best you can, but don’t get the blues over morning sickness. It’s just nature’s way of protecting your baby and letting you know that everything is alright with your pregnancy.
So, how do you feel about morning sickness? When you’re nauseous, does it help you to think about how your symptoms may be pointing towards a healthy baby?
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