What should a pregnant woman do if she vomits blood? What causes vomiting during pregnancy?

Most pregnant women will experience vomiting during pregnancy, which is very distressing for expectant mothers. Severe vomiting can also affect the health of pregnant women. So is vomiting a normal early pregnancy reaction? What causes vomiting during pregnancy?

1. Is vomiting a normal early pregnancy reaction?

About half of pregnant women will experience food selection, loss of appetite, mild nausea and vomiting, dizziness, fatigue and other symptoms in the early stages of pregnancy, especially when they are more than one month pregnant. These symptoms are called early pregnancy reactions. Nausea, dry heaving or vomiting of clear saliva usually occur in the morning on an empty stomach. The patient likes to eat sour or spicy snacks, dislikes eating meat, or feels nauseous at the smell of meat. Early pregnancy reactions have little impact on life and work, do not require special treatment, and usually disappear around 12 weeks of pregnancy. They are normal phenomena.

However, some pregnant women experience severe nausea and vomiting symptoms, frequent vomiting, and inability to eat. This is called "hyperemesis gravidarum", which is called "nausea and vomiting of pregnancy" in traditional Chinese medicine. Due to malnutrition, a large amount of water and salt substances are lost in the body, which can cause a significant weight loss, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and acidosis, which must be treated.

2. Causes of vomiting during pregnancy

Western medicine believes that hyperemesis gravidarum may be mainly related to hormonal changes and mental imbalance after pregnancy. After pregnancy, the body produces a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and the level of this hormone reaches its peak within 3 months of pregnancy. In pregnant women with twins or multiple births, or patients with hydatidiform mole, the hCG concentration is often significantly increased, and the incidence of severe vomiting also increases significantly, both indicating that this disease is closely related to hCG. In addition, mental factors also have a great relationship with the occurrence of pregnancy vomiting. For example, pregnant women who hate pregnancy, are eager to have children, are nervous, sensitive, anxious, or emotionally unstable are more likely to experience vomiting during pregnancy. Some people also believe that vitamin B6 deficiency can also cause vomiting during pregnancy.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the main causes of vomiting during pregnancy are stomach deficiency, liver heat and phlegm stagnation, which cause stomach qi to rise. Due to the gathering of qi and blood downward to nourish the fetus after pregnancy, qi and blood are mainly concentrated in the Chong Mai and Ren Mai, two meridians connected to the uterus. If the spleen and stomach are weak, or if the diet is raw and cold, which damages the stomach qi, or if the worry is too much, overworked and damages the spleen qi, the qi of the Chong Mai will take advantage of the weakness to attack the stomach, causing nausea and vomiting; if one is usually impatient and angry, and becomes nervous and unhappy after pregnancy, and has strong liver fire, the liver qi will carry the Chong Qi upward to attack the stomach and cause nausea and vomiting; if one is obese, lacks exercise, and has strong phlegm and dampness, the qi of the Chong Mai will attack the stomach after pregnancy, and carry the phlegm and dampness upward, which can also cause nausea and vomiting. If vomiting is frequent, eating is difficult, and Qi is depleted and Yin is damaged, it is a serious condition in which both Qi and Yin are damaged.