Just about the time you discover you’re pregnant, your ecstasy is short-lived.  Morning sickness can drag you back down to earth quickly.  Afflicting between 50 and 90 percent of all pregnant women, morning sickness isn’t confined to just the morning.  Some women feel nauseated all day.

There are two theories on what causes morning sickness.  One of them is that morning sickness is caused by the dominant hormone during pregnancy, progesterone. Progesterone has a "softening" effect on the muscles in the body.  The progesterone relaxes the workings of the whole digestive track which makes the elimination of bodily wastes slower which can lead to a slow emptying of the stomach which leads to excess stomach acids.

Another theory, and more widely accepted, is that morning sickness is caused by the buildup of hCG (human chorionic gonadotopin) in your system. hCG is produced after implantation takes place and continues to increase until about the 12th week of your pregnancy, at which point the levels of hCG starts to decrease. If you are lucky, this is when your morning sickness symptoms will start to decrease as well.

Morning sickness isn't all bad though. Recent studies have suggested that mothers who have morning sickness have fewer miscarriages so there IS a bright spot in the midst of your morning, or in come cases, all day miseries.

You may become bombarded with advice from well-meaning friends on what helped them through their bout with morning sickness.  Some remedies may work, others won’t.  Here are a few that have lasted through the years and may work for you:

General Remedies:

• Avoid warm places as heat can increase the nausea feelings.
• Take naps during the day (but not right after eating). Tiredness plays a big part in morning sickness.
• Get enough sleep at night.
• Get out of bed slowly in the morning.
• Try eating plain crackers or dry cereal before you get out of bed in the morning.

Food and Drink:

• Avoid greasy or spicy foods as they often cause nausea or heartburn.
• Eat what you want when you want it. Your cravings will not lead you the wrong way.
• Have frequent protein snacks. (Low fat meats and seafood, nuts, eggs and beans are high protein.)
• Eat smaller meals every two hours or so.
• Eating something salty before a meal can help you "make it through" a meal.
• Do not drink fluids with your meals.
• Non caffeinated teas like peppermint and ginger can help calm nausea.
• Drink small amounts of fluids regularly throughout the day to avoid dehydration.
• Do not skip meals if you can help it.
• Avoid spicy and fried food - both eating and smelling it can increase your nausea.