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This is very common in the early months of pregnancy, and varies from slight nausea on first rising to actual vomiting, not contined to through morning.
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| It begins, as a rule, about the fourth or fifth week, and may last for two or three months or even longer. There is usually little more than retching on rising in the morning, with occasionally the vomiting of a little mucus or bile, or even of food. Sometimes it is accompanied by other digestive disturbances, such as salivation, heartburn, constipation or flatulence but the sickness itself has nothing to do with any change in the digestive system, bein purely a nervous disturbance. |
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In many cases it may be largely due to the fact that the woman expects to be troubled with sickness; auto-suggestion and anxiety will then be sufficient to bring it on, especially in highly-strung women of a nervous temperament. It is almost always absent in the case of women who do not realize that they are pregnant, and is moreover, very rare with women who fit themselves for pregnancy by a healthy, active life, with careful attention to such matters as regular exercise, bowel regularity, fresh air, etc.
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| If morning sickness persists in spite of careful hygiene, a light breakfast should be taken in bed, and the patient should lie down for an hour or two till all feeling of nausea has passcsd. Heartburn and flatulence may be treated by doses of bicarbonate of soda in a glass of wataer. Fatty containing foods should be strictly limited or abstained from, and more starch taken. The necessity of adequate rest and sleep should be insisted upon. If the gemeral health and nutrition be affected it may be necessary to remove the patient from home and friends, and confine her to bed for a period. Treatment by suggestion (e.g. the assumption that vomiting will cease in the new surroundings) and the complete absence of misdirected sympathy will almost always bring about a cure. |
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