If you’ve found out you’re pregnant you may be wondering, when does morning sickness start?  Not all women are affected by morning sickness, but a majority are, from 50 to 80%.  Doctors aren’t really sure what causes it, they think it’s a combination of things like hormones and low blood sugar.  It can be strange because you can have nausea and hunger pains at the same time.  It doesn’t always happen in the morning, sometimes it comes at different times, or it does come in the morning and lasts all day. For some women, morning sickness may be the first clue that they are pregnant.  It usually starts about a month or two after conception, from 4 to 6 weeks.  It can be accompanied by other signs of pregnancy like headaches, tiredness, frequent need to urinate, cramps, and an enhanced sense of smell.  Unfortunately the enhanced sense of smell is what can cause pregnancy nausea.  Foods that you used to love will make you sick from just their smell.

Morning sickness typically ends by the 14th to 16th week, or in between 3 to 4 months.  Some unlucky women have it last longer, until the end of the second trimester, (6 months) or even into the third trimester.  In rarer cases it can last the whole pregnancy.  Some women get it so severely that they can’t keep food down and loose weight.  Your doctor will be able to tell you your options if this is the case for you.

An old wives tale is that morning sickness is a sign of healthy pregnancy, not all women get it and obviously lots of babies are born to women who don’t get morning sickness.  It’s just the luck of the draw whether you get it or not.  Some women will get it in their first pregnancy but not their second, it’s different for every pregnancy.  So, if you don’t every have morning sickness consider yourself lucky and enjoy the first 3 months of your pregnancy.