Morning Sickness In Nursing

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Morning Sickness

Morning sickness is something that occurs in many pregnant women and can sometimes be unbearable, so as advanced practice nurses, it is our duty to educate and manage these women on symptoms to the best of our ability. More than 50% of pregnant women experience morning sickness at some time during their pregnancy (American Pregnancy Association, 2017). Morning sickness ranges from nausea to uncontrollable vomiting and may occur from morning until night. Many women experience this sickness in the morning while they have an empty stomach. Morning sickness often occurs from week 6 until the end of the first trimester, aroun week 12, but may appear, disappear and reappear at any time during the pregnancy (American …show more content…

However, there are a number of natural remedies that are recommended to help with morning sickness. Vitamin B6 may be an option for supplementation in pregnant women as well as ginger. Ginger decreases nausea and comes in a variety of options such as ginger biscuits, ginger gum, ginger ale, and ginger capsules. Some women admit to relief and some women deny that ginger gives them any relief from morning sickness. Peppermint tea may be useful in decreasing nausea as well as roasted dandelion root tea (Winder, 2015). These are a number of natural remedies that are recommended by Winder to decrease the symptoms that are often debilitating to pregnant women. Eating bland foods such as toast and crackers upon awakening may decrease the severity of symptoms associated with nausea due to empty stomach and low blood …show more content…

Due to the fact that it occurs in more than half of pregnant women, it will be important to educate pregnant women or women who plan to become pregnant on triggers, avoidance, prevention and treatment options for morning sickness. By being open with them about what they can expect, they may be more likely to seek care when necessary and acknowledge when it is a normal side effect of pregnancy versus a serious condition requring immmediate medical attention such as hyperemesis gravidarum. As advanced practice nurses, we must educate and encourage the best health status for our patients during all stages of their