Morning sickness is a stereotypical indication of pregnancy, but a woman who's under a lot of stress should consider other possible causes for recurring nausea. Though nausea is always a telltale sign of pregnancy on television and in other stories, in real life, nausea has so many other potential precursors that it's a rather unreliable pregnancy predictor.
Significance
Morning sickness is so named because nausea associated with pregnancy tends to be at its worst just after waking. The hormones of pregnancy cause a woman to generally be more sensitive to flavors, smells and other nausea triggers. But in the morning, after several hours of sleep, the stomach is empty and especially sensitive to irritating gastric fluids. It should be noted that not all pregnant women experience morning sickness. A woman who's been pregnant before with no nausea should therefore suspect that her new morning nausea may be caused by something other than pregnancy.
Function
Physical symptoms of stress can cause stomach upset. Stress causes the adrenal glands to produce adrenalin and glucocorticoids. Under normal circumstances these hormones trigger the "flight or fight" response, which is a positive physiological mechanism that saves a person from true danger. But when adrenal activity is routinely elevated by psychological stress, hormone levels do not have a chance to revert to a normal baseline and may cause a host of physical maladies including gastrointestinal disturbances such as diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea.
Effects
Nausea from stress is physical, not psychological. Stomach acid production increases in response to chronic stress, and the digestive processes may actually slow down. Just as in morning sickness of pregnancy, stress nausea may be worse upon waking than at other times of the day. So for a woman, it's easy to mistake this for morning sickness. However, unlike hormonally based morning sickness, a woman doesn't have to simply wait for stress related nausea to go away. It can be treated effectively.
Prevention/Solution
Severe cases of stress related nausea may be treated with medications to reduce stomach acid. Anti-anxiety medications may be prescribed when underlying anxiety is severe. However, stress reduction is a necessary part of a long-term treatment plan. Relaxation techniques, especially meditation, are associated with reduced production of adrenalin and glucocorticoids that cause the stress response. Exercise, attention to sleep habits and participation in talk therapy are also sometimes useful in reducing physical symptoms of stress.
Considerations
High stress levels do not eliminate the possibility of pregnancy, and stress may also be a key factor in the severity of morning sickness in pregnant women. So a woman experiencing morning nausea should be alert to other signs of pregnancy. A late menstrual period, extreme fatigue, excessive hunger or tender or swollen breasts should arouse suspicion of pregnancy and warrant a pregnancy test.
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