Q:It should be an exciting time for my husband and me. I found out that I am pregnant with our first child. We have been married for eight years so you can imagine how important the baby is for us.
But I don’t feel excited. I have been hit with morning sickness and no matter how hard I try to fight it off , I cannot seem to get rid of it.
My husband thinks that morning sickness is largely psychological and he is encouraging me to relax my way out of it.
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What do you think?
A:I hope that you are consulting with your family physician. Morning sickness is common and usually inconsequential but occasionally can signal other problems.
You need assurance from your doctor that what you are experiencing is about bringing a new life into your family.
I checked for statistics to share with you about morning sickness but that proved to be confusing. Some articles said that more than 50 percent of pregnant women get morning sickness, while others pegged it at closer to 80 percent.
You can safely conclude that the chances of it being a psychological condition are remote.
Relaxation might help you throughout your pregnancy, but there are a number of specific suggestions to help you deal with morning sickness to make it more tolerable.
It can best be managed by simply following the directives of good healthy living.
Get lots of exercise, rest, nutritious meals and a few iron and vitamin supplements. Check with your doctor on this one.
Some people believe that morning sickness is nature’s way of helping the body protect the fetus it is nurturing. The nausea discourages pregnant mothers from taking what might be harmful.
In a few months, that fetus you are protecting is going to change into a happy and healthy baby, at which time your husband will most likely find himself feeling protective of both you and your child.
Perhaps then he will understand that the morning sickness you had was more than psychological, just as the sense of protection he will have for the two of you after the birth is more than just psychological.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan. Contact: jandrews@producer.com.
