Morning Sickness

If you conduct a survey among pregnant women about the nastiest symptom of pregnancy, this would probably be in the top 3. I would even bet that morning sickness would come out the winning answer.

From my own experience, I was having nausea a lot, but fortunately, not a whole lot of actual vomiting. I remember eating a lot of tocino back then. Specifically, tocino that was cooked in a way that the covering became sort of caramelized, almost burnt. Tocino that wasn't cooked like that made me nauseous (Yeah, weird.)

Another weird thing is that morning sickness doesn't only occur in the mornings. It can be present at any time of the day, whether you've just waken up or preparing to go to sleep. But many women report that their symptoms are a lot worse during the day.

Home Pregnancy Tests

Home pregnancy tests work by measuring the level of hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, in your bloodstream. This is the hormone produced by the developing placenta in the early stages of pregnancy, and is the hormone responsible for the feeling of nausea that we so often refer to as "morning sickness." HCG levels start showing up in the blood shortly after implantation occurs.

There are several different types of home pregnancy tests - the strip, the cassette, and the dipstick (or midstream). Every brand and type contains instructions on how to use the product, but generally, here's how they work:

• Pregnancy test strip - You collect your urine in a clean container, and simply hold the strip vertically and immerse it in the sample. There's usually a line indicating how deep you should dip the test strip in. After a period of time (which is specified in the manufacturer's instructions - but usually after 3-5 minutes) you read the results.
• Pregnancy test cassette - Similar to the pregnancy test strip, you collect your urine first in a clean container. Use the dropper provided in the kit to withdraw a small amount of urine, and then put about 2-4 drops of the sample into the designated area on the cassette. You can then read the results after 3-5 minutes, according to the product instructions.
• Pregnancy test dipstick - This is probably the most hassle-free type of pregnancy test to use. You simply position the product such that the absorbent strip will be in contact with your urine when you pee. Wait for 6-10 seconds so that the strip will absorb a significant amount of sample. You can also choose to use this as you would with a pregnancy test strip - to collect the sample urine first in a clean container before dipping the tip into it. Then, after 3-5 minutes, you can read the results.