Nausea and vomiting in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy: causes and what to do

Vomiting reactions are considered an unpleasant condition that a woman in an interesting position is forced to deal with. If at the beginning of pregnancy such reactions are completely normal and natural, then vomiting in the second trimester of pregnancy can no longer be perceived as the norm, and therefore requires close attention from specialists and the patient herself. Such a condition may indicate the development of serious pathological processes in the body of a pregnant woman, which can threaten the health of the patient and the safety of the fetus.

Feeling unwell is so exhausting that sometimes you don’t have the strength to get out of bed

Why does vomiting bother you?

Experts do not yet know all the subtleties of the processes that accompany the birth and gestation of a new life in the mother’s womb, however, they were able to establish which factors most influence the development of vomiting during pregnancy in the second trimester.

Imbalance of nutrients and vitamin substances. After fertilization, the body begins to provide nutrition and vitamins for two people. The fetus grows, its needs increase along with it, and it is difficult for the body to provide a complete set of nutrients even with a relatively balanced diet.
Hormonal changes. The highest levels of estrogen hormone are observed in pregnant women until the end of the first trimester, but often the concentration of this substance remains at 4 months. Such progesterone instability leads to a slowdown in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract structures, which leads to various disorders such as vomiting, nausea, etc.
Sometimes after eating the patient experiences malaise and heaviness, so as not to experience them anymore, the pregnant woman refuses to eat. With a strong feeling of hunger, patients may feel severe nausea, dizziness and weakness, sometimes mothers even vomit against the background of hungry sensations.
Impaired functionality of the gastrointestinal tract, which is often observed in multiple pregnancies. Increased pressure is created on the walls, more space is required for the uterus, which compresses neighboring organs. Such reasons cause disturbances in the functionality of intestinal and gastric structures. Due to compression, food can be thrown back into the stomach or esophagus, which causes nausea, heartburn, and sometimes vomiting.
Hypertension – patients often vomit when their blood pressure is high.
Infectious lesions, in which patients are worried about fever and hyperthermia, nausea and vomiting reactions. Further evidence that the causes of lightheadedness are associated with infection is the presence of diarrhea.
Hypotension usually occurs in girls who suffer from VSD even before pregnancy. Under the influence of pregnancy, the condition worsens and the pressure drops even lower, which leads to nausea, vomiting, etc.

It is quite difficult to independently identify the cause of vomiting, so medical assistance is necessary.

Causes of nausea

Here are the reasons why nausea occurs in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy:

the growing uterus puts pressure on the gastrointestinal system;
changes in the body’s hormonal levels with increased production of progesterone;
the contents of the stomach end up in the esophagus and irritate the mucous membrane;
feeling hungry, eating too much or eating junk food;
increased content of acetone in the body;
increased sensitivity to odors;
psycho-emotional stress;
heredity, individual characteristics of the body.

Important!
To rule out serious illnesses as the cause of nausea, you should consult your gynecologist.
This is especially true for long-term and severe symptoms of toxicosis. Also, during pregnancy, nausea may occur that is not associated with expecting a baby.

This happens in the presence of the following ailments:

intestinal infection
- can cause fever, chills, diarrhea;
and stomach ulcer
- accompanied by pain;
or inflammation of the kidneys
- there is an increase in temperature, pain in the lower back or abdomen;
- accompanied by pain in the right side and diarrhea;
or hypofunction of the thyroid gland
- low blood pressure, constipation are noted;
- Causes increased fatigue and skin rashes.

Severity

In especially severe cases, contact your doctor immediately

Vomiting syndrome causes a lot of discomfort, accompanied by increased salivation, disturbances in water-electrolyte balance, etc. To select adequate and effective tactics for the treatment of nausea and vomiting reactions during pregnancy in the second trimester, a classification of vomiting by severity is used.

In the first degree, the urge occurs no more than 5 times a day, the patient does not suffer from drowsiness, she is active and cheerful, her blood pressure and pulse are normal. A loss of about 3 kg of weight is quite acceptable.

At grade 2, the frequency of urges increases to 10 times a day, while the patient’s pulse quickens, acetone in the urine increases, and weight may decrease by 5 kg/week. The woman experiences drowsiness and weakness.

In the third degree, in which vomiting is also called indomitable, it develops to approximately 24-25 r/day, which prevents the woman from eating. As a result, patients experience significant weight loss (more than 8 kg), the amount of urine excreted decreases, and acetone is increased in the blood and urine, which leads to frequent hyperthermia. Mommy is worried about her rapid pulse. When severe dehydration develops, the woman becomes drowsy, her blood pressure drops, the patient becomes weak, and her consciousness is confused. This is the most severe degree, in which it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor.

Third trimester: causes of nausea

Having rested from toxicosis in the second trimester, women often begin to suffer from nausea again in the third trimester. The cause of nausea at this stage is that the baby puts pressure on the mother’s internal organs. Especially when the liver is affected, the body becomes indignant, and this manifests itself in nausea, heartburn, and sometimes pain in the stomach.

A more dangerous phenomenon may be a disease such as gestosis. This is another name for late toxicosis, when oxygen deficiency is observed.

But this phenomenon is always accompanied by other symptoms:

increased blood pressure;
dizziness;
the appearance of edema;
headache;
pain in the hypochondrium.

With gestosis, a disturbance in urine tests is observed - protein appears. That is why tests are taken every week in the last weeks of pregnancy.

Nausea at 40 weeks of pregnancy may be a common manifestation of late toxicosis, or it may indicate that the uterus has begun to open and contractions will soon begin.

Vomiting with bile

Another pathological type is vomiting bile during pregnancy. Such a condition during pregnancy cannot be considered normal, therefore, if bilious vomiting occurs, you must urgently consult a specialist. One of the common reasons why such a disease appears is inflammatory damage to the gallbladder membrane, which occurs at any age. With cholecystitis, a pronounced painful sensation occurs in the area of the right side, and the urge to vomit bothers you on a full stomach.

If bilious vomiting is caused exclusively by toxic reactions, then the urge occurs in the morning after waking up on an empty stomach. When the stomach is empty, its muscles continue to actively contract, and gastric secretions are still produced. As a result, bile is sucked into the stomach from the duodenum and gall bladder. Therefore, when vomiting, bile masses are released. Therefore, mothers are strongly recommended to eat little by little, but regularly, in order to avoid long breaks between meals.

Additional symptoms

In the middle of pregnancy, nausea and vomiting usually occur only in exceptional cases, and there should be no regularity in such manifestations.

The weeks of the second trimester are more characterized by stable good health, appetite improves, toxicosis recedes, weight returns to normal and is gradually gained.
Moms' sleep is normalized, an incredible surge of energy is felt, the uterus does not yet take up much space in the abdominal cavity, and therefore there is no discomfort characteristic of late pregnancy.
If manifestations of nausea and vomiting reactions appear, this indicates the presence in the body of a large amount of toxic substances in the body’s structures, an increase in acetone in the bloodstream, etc.
Additional symptomatic manifestations of such conditions are sleep disturbances, depression, drowsiness and excessive fatigue.

To treat severe cases of vomiting, women are prescribed infusion therapy or tablets.

Brief description of the manifestations of the period

The late fetal, fetal or third trimester of pregnancy is considered the most difficult and problematic of the three trimesters of gestation. Although none of them are easy for the expectant mother.

It is in the third stage that a woman must be extremely attentive to all emerging features of the condition and report them to the doctor.

To prevent them from harming the baby in the third trimester, the doctor not only carefully examines his ward during each visit, but also identifies signs atypical for pregnancy.

He should be informed of all the problems that arise in the pregnant woman in the third trimester, because this is the final stage of gestation, summing up and finally shaping the future child.

Nausea can have different reasons, both physiological and pathological, and can be established. what takes place in a particular case of pregnancy is possible only with a complete history and knowledge of all the problems.

There is a certain list of pathologies that a woman in the third trimester must inform the doctor about, and it includes the phenomena of toxicosis, in most cases manifesting itself as:

nausea;
vomit;
uncharacteristic increase in temperature, which is not accompanied by infectious or colds;
uncharacteristic pain;
lack of child activity.

The doctor himself also monitors certain conditions in the third trimester, based on routine studies. They are carried out to identify:

gestational diabetes;
abnormal fetal size;
hemolytic streptococcus;
normal or pathological volume of amniotic fluid in the third trimester;
position of the child;
acceleration of his heart rate during movement, as is normal.

If in the 3rd trimester the only negative manifestations are nausea and vomiting, it means that the pressure that the internal organs experience from the uterus, which has increased in size during pregnancy, is to blame.

The presence of a negative factor from the doctor’s list may indicate a pathological cause for the appearance of such symptoms.

Nausea is always only a symptomatic sign of normality or pathology, but determining what exactly can cause it, what exact reasons it is, is often quite difficult.

To distinguish between normal and pathological conditions, mandatory studies are undertaken, which in medical practice are called planned.

Why are vomiting reactions dangerous?

You should carefully monitor your diet

Frequent vomiting in the second trimester of gestation can threaten the expectant mother with dehydration, therefore, in case of severe vomiting reactions, it is necessary to prevent dehydration. It is absolutely forbidden to drink liquids in one gulp; you need to drink drinks in small sips, but often. If a vomiting reaction occurs immediately after drinking, then you need to reduce the single dose of liquid, but then you will also have to reduce the period of time between drinking.

If the vomiting does not go away and is indomitable, then you need to call an ambulance. A woman in this position with such symptoms is usually admitted to hospital treatment, where therapy is carried out in accordance with the root cause of the pathology. Self-medication in such conditions is extremely dangerous and unacceptable, because in case of vomiting caused by serious poisoning, the mother should receive the most gentle treatment possible so that it does not harm the baby developing inside.

How to treat

When vomiting occurs in the middle of pregnancy, women sometimes do not know how to alleviate their condition and how to help themselves. If vomiting starts on an empty stomach, then mommy is advised to eat something, only the food should be light. When going to bed, prepare yourself an apple and a glass of water, some crackers in advance, so that when the morning urge appears, you can immediately prevent a vomiting reaction.

In general, treatment and control of nausea and vomiting conditions in the second trimester of gestation may involve drug intervention, dietary therapy and home relief methods.

Medicines

Doctors usually resort to medicinal treatment of vomiting reactions in pregnant women with vomiting of 2-3 degrees of severity, when the woman noticeably loses weight and suffers from vomiting 10 or more times a day. If vomiting in the second trimester is caused by prolonged toxicosis, then the doctor may prescribe antihistamines and antiemetic tablets; to improve liver function, hepatoprotectors are indicated, and in case of intoxication, enterosorbent agents are recommended.

Among the anti-nausea tablets that are relatively safe for mothers are: Hofitol, Cerucal, etc. Among enterosorbents, it is better to choose Polysorb, activated carbon, and among hepatoprotectors, Essentiale Forte N. Detoxification medications, physiotherapeutic procedures, vitamin complexes, etc. also alleviate the condition.

Diet therapy

Some adjustments in the diet will help mommy cope with vomiting at home. It is necessary to properly organize the pregnant woman’s nutrition, eliminate stressful situations and worries, and create the most favorable and comfortable environment around the woman.

If vomiting reactions occur after meals, then it is necessary to avoid eating salty, spicy or fatty foods, dishes that have an unpleasant odor that causes nausea.
In such a situation, flour dishes, as well as those containing a lot of sugar, are also unhelpful.
Mommy needs to eat 5-6 times a day in small portions; the digestive system should not be overloaded with large portions.
It is unacceptable to skip meals and leave yourself hungry; such behavior can only complicate the condition.
When preparing food, the apartment must be ventilated, cooked with the hood on, the window open, etc.
Immediately after eating, mommy is not recommended to lie down, and clothes should be loose and not tight on the stomach.
Try to spend more time outside the city, in the fresh forest air, take a walk, preferably every evening.

In general, a pregnant woman’s diet should be varied and nutritious. The basis should be vegetables and lean meat, fruits. If, after adjusting the diet, vomiting does not go away, then specialist intervention is needed.

Home Remedies

Fresh fruit must be included in the menu

Traditional medicine also offers a lot of remedies for the treatment of vomiting during pregnancy. Medicinal decoctions, such as mint, have an excellent effect. You can also prepare a decoction from a herbal mixture that includes yarrow, marigold and mint. 2 dessert spoons of each plant should be steamed with boiling water and left for at least half an hour. Then the mixture is filtered and taken several times a day, drinking in small portions.

Cranberry fruit drinks are very helpful in the fight against vomiting and dehydration. When you feel unbearable nausea creeping up your throat, you need to drink a small amount of this fruit drink in small sips; many pregnant women note that this remedy quickly relieves an attack of malaise, alleviating the condition.

Protein-containing foods such as cheese, eggs or fermented milk products will help avoid vomiting in the morning, and fruits will also help. Evening ailments are more often associated with overwork, so mommy needs to give herself time to rest, taking short breaks.

Therapy

Treatment of vomiting of pregnancy, which develops in the 1st trimester, depends on the severity of the condition.

Thus, stage 1 usually does not require drug treatment; it goes away under the influence of routine measures: frequent and small meals, exclusion of fatty and high-calorie foods. In rare cases, hyperemesis gravidarum progresses to the next stage.

In the first degree, mainly folk remedies are used:

drink a glass of not very cold water on an empty stomach;
drinking a decoction of lemon balm and rosehip throughout the day;
drinking tea with a piece of ginger root grated into it;
chewing cumin seeds;
alkaline water (Borjomi), from which gas has been released;
eating various nuts, dried fruits, small pieces of citrus fruits. You should start your first morning meal with nuts;
rinsing the mouth with chamomile decoction;
eating foods rich in pyridoxine: avocado, eggs, chicken, beans, fish.

If vomiting during pregnancy is of grade 2 severity, medications are used for treatment. These are antiemetics (Osetron, Metoclopramide), folic acid, vitamin pyridoxine, sorbents (Polysorb, White Coal), drugs that improve liver function (Hofitol). Meals are very frequent and in small portions.

For grade 3, hospitalization is required. Oral nutrition is completely excluded: all nutrients are injected into a vein until the acetonemic state is relieved. Antiemetics are also injected into a vein, and vitamin B6 is administered intramuscularly.

We remind you once again: emetic syndrome that occurs after 22 weeks, and especially in the third trimester, is an indication for immediate hospitalization. Self-medication is unacceptable here.

Prevention of vomiting

There are no special means to prevent vomiting. Mommy just needs to be more careful about the products she eats. It is necessary to exclude from the diet and even from the refrigerator those foods that provoke a nausea-vomiting reaction. If you feel unwell and vomiting at the smell of cooking meat, then you need to stop cooking it at home for a while until the nausea attacks stop and the condition stabilizes.

In some situations, vomiting is the result of psycho-emotional overstrain or stress, excessive anxiety, so such conditions are unacceptable for pregnant women, so household members should take care to exclude these factors from the life of the expectant mother. This is necessary for calm gestation and a successful birth.

According to scientists, prolonged toxicosis, manifested by nausea and vomiting, significantly increases the chances of giving birth to a strong and healthy baby. It has not yet been possible to establish the exact reasons for this pattern, but experts have definitely determined that the more sick a mother feels during pregnancy, especially in the morning, the less likely it is to terminate the pregnancy or have a miscarriage. So nausea is not always a bad thing.