The Ailments of Pregnancy : Part 2

The Prospective Mother: A Handbook for Women During Pregnancy
by J. Morris Slemons

(Page 9 of 18)

It is an exceedingly good rule to bend every effort toward escaping the initial attack of nausea, for in this way one soon gains confidence, and overcomes the depressing habit of being continually on the watch for the symptom, lest she be taken unawares. Exceptionally, however, patients feel more comfortable if they vomit in the morning; this may be helpful, for example, if a large meal has been eaten just before retiring the previous night.

Next to morning sickness in point of frequency comes the disposition to be nauseated about meal time. Those who vomit after the meal is finished are frequently inclined to eat soon again; and there is no reason why they should not. Sick stomach after meals may be due to several causes, such as eating hurriedly, eating too much, or selecting food that is difficult to digest. If a meal is bolted the stomach may be overloaded before the appetite is appeased; and consequently those who eat too much are fortunate when the stomach rejects the excess. Eating slowly and masticating the food thoroughly, we know, is the proper way to insure taking no more than is needed.

One of the most valuable precautions against persistent nausea consists in taking small amounts of food five or six times during the day. Directions regarding the frequency of meals and the choice of food have been given in Chapter IV, to which the reader may refer. It may be repeated, however, that a prospective mother should naturally avoid anything which she knows is likely not to agree with her. On the other hand, she is almost certain not to be nauseated by any article of food for which she has an appetite.

Lying down for a short while after meals frequently serves to prevent an attack of vomiting. It is a good rule, furthermore, at whatever time of day the sensation of nausea may occur, to lie down immediately. An ice bag or cloths wrung out of cold water, if applied to the abdomen, often give relief; warm applications occasionally serve the same purpose better. Some patients prevent nausea by constantly wearing a flannel bandage about the abdomen.

Many instances of the vomiting of pregnancy cannot be explained by errors in diet, for the attacks come on repeatedly whether the stomach contains food or not. Under these circumstances mental influences frequently have to be reckoned with. Indeed, in most cases of vomiting of pregnancy dietetic and other hygienic measures are of no avail unless the patient learns to divert her attention from troublesome thoughts.

That the brain can exert an influence over the stomach is a fact well substantiated both by physiological experiment and by medical observation. In all probability there is a definite spot in the brain, called the "vomiting center," the irritation of which causes retching and the upheaval of the contents of the stomach. As this nervous mechanism is possessed by everyone, it is not called into existence by the advent of pregnancy. Nevertheless, it seems likely that pregnancy renders it more sensitive, and it is certain that pregnancy establishes new means by which the center may be stimulated. This admission does not imply, however, that the prospective mother must submit to inevitable discomfort, for she can and should muster the strength to resist it.

Time and again an unhappy frame of mind exaggerates or prolongs the vomiting of pregnancy. Thus, disappointment, anxiety, grief, fright, and other types of mental uneasiness not only magnify the discomfort but sometimes are its sole cause. The curious cases in which the husband suffers from nausea while his wife is pregnant are explained by mental influences. As a result of the same kind of influence, women who imagine themselves to be pregnant often suffer from violent vomiting, which ceases as soon as they discover their error. On the other hand, women who for several months remain ignorant of the fact that they are pregnant rarely suffer from sick stomach.

Any kind of worry may be and often is the direct cause of the vomiting of pregnancy, though patients are often unwilling to confess it; and occasionally do not seem to know what it is that troubles them. In any event, having received the assurance of her physician that there is nothing serious the matter, the prospective mother who is annoyed by nausea should make every effort not to become self- centered. She should have congenial companionship and should interest herself in pursuits outside of, as well as within, her home. Of all the measures that may be employed to overcome this manifestation of pregnancy the most fundamental and essential is mental diversion.

Heartburn. Obviously, it would not be fair to consider indigestion as one of the ailments peculiar to pregnancy, for anyone is liable to suffer from indigestion. Yet dyspeptic symptoms, more especially heartburn and flatulence, occur so frequently at this time that something should be said regarding their causation and treatment.

A burning sensation rising from the stomach into the throat, familiarly called heartburn, is generally due to an overabundant secretion of hydrochloric acid, which is, as we have learned, a normal constituent of the gastric juice. Of late, the conditions which influence its secretion have been the subject of laboratory investigation, which has disclosed, among other interesting facts, the way to prevent heartburn. These experiments have taught that the introduction of fat into the stomach shortly before a meal decreases the amount of acid secreted during digestion. Consequently, anyone who is troubled by heartburn and wishes to avoid it should take a tablespoonful of olive oil, a cup of cream, or a glass of rich milk fifteen or twenty minutes before meal-time.

On the other hand, fatty food eaten with the meals prolongs the stay of food in the stomach and causes an increase in the secretion of hydrochloric acid. An excess of the acid, as we have just learned, is favorable to the development of heartburn. Therefore, as a further precaution against this source of discomfort, it is advisable not to use a large amount of butter or of salad oil, and to refrain from fried food, rich desserts, or any other article of diet known to contain a relatively large amount of fat.