Medically, morning sickness is known as nausea gravidarum. It is a condition which pregnant women experience in the first trimester although there are those that might experience the same 5 months into their pregnancy. Basically when it comes to explaining what is morning sickness, a person first of all need to know that it is that time that a woman vomits a lot and often experiences nausea during their pregnancy. This condition in medical circles is simply explained by the imbalances of hormones in the body.

When fertilization of an egg takes place, the body of a woman reacts to that by fighting it. The immune system of a woman recognizes the fertilized egg as a foreign body and thereby produces hormones to fight the same. On the other hand, there are hormones that the body produces to protect the fertilized egg.

The human chorionic gonatropin (HCG) is the hormone that the body produces to protect the embryo up until the placenta is fully developed to take over. It is also a good thing to note that HCG helps in the production of progesterone which then helps in redirecting more blood to the uterus for the development of the embryo.

Some of the first signs that a woman might experience when they become pregnant include vomiting and nausea. Morning sickness is a misnomer because a person may at times even find themselves vomiting at night or even in the middle of the day. A woman can have an aversion to smell. Such smells as those of cigarette smoke, alcohol, car fumes and so on may make her very sensitive. There are other symptoms that come with morning sickness but which are not categorized under the same such as tenderness of the breast, hot flushes and sleepiness.

Nausea is the other morning sickness characteristic. When looking into what is morning sickness, any women need to note that it is not all women who experience this. For those who do, they should not feel worried unless the nausea is prolonged and distressing. The nausea in pregnant women is caused by the increase in the progesterone levels in the body. This is the hormone which is responsible for relaxing the uterus.

Stomach cramps are the other symptoms that a person might need to be aware of when seeking to know what is morning sickness. The stomach cramps occur just the same way the menstrual cramps do. As time passes by, the cramps might spread from the stomach to the rest of the abdomen. This is caused by the hormonal imbalances which make to relax the uterus to create room for the embryo. It is necessary to seek medical attention at every stage of a pregnancy.