How did you first know you were pregnant?  Were you regularly checking several home pregnancy tests?  Was it a missed period that first tipped you off?  Or something different?

For our cheerful Wiser Pregnancy mom-to-be blogger, surging hormones in the early stages of pregnancy meant lots of uncharacteristic burping.  A home pregnancy test confirmed that a new baby was indeed on the way.

However, for many women, physical pregnancy symptoms aren’t the first clue.  According to a Wiser Pregnancy survey of more than 1,500 women, almost half (48.3%) of women first know they’re pregnant when they miss a period.  Another 28.9% of women first know they are pregnant when they take a home pregnancy test. Interestingly, a doctor’s visit alerts only about 5% of women that they are pregnant.

On the other hand, nearly 20% of women first know they’re pregnant based on physical pregnancy symptoms.  Potential clues include:

• Morning sickness (6.8%)
• Other pregnancy symptoms, such as burping (5.2%)
• Swollen, tender breasts (4.2%)
• Weight gain (1.3%)
• Frequent urination (0.7%)

How did you first know you were pregnant?  Did you experience any tell-tale physical symptoms?

A lucky minority – 42% of women – don’t have to deal with morning sickness.  The rest of us search – often fruitlessly – for ways to control our nausea and limit trips to the bathroom or nearest trash can. 

According to a Wiser Pregnancy survey, 40% of women seek a doctor’s advice for morning sickness remedies, yet the advice isn’t always helpful. 

Which begs the question: What do pregnant doctors do for their own morning sickness?

About 35% of doctor-moms (pregnant OB/GYNs, internists and general practitioners) report having “significant nausea” during pregnancy.  Interestingly, these women’s approach to treating morning sickness differs quite a bit from their patients’.

One of the most noteworthy differences is that pregnant doctors are more likely to take prescription medication to alleviate nausea – 49% use it, compared to 20% of other women.

Also, a higher percentage of doctor-moms try common morning sickness remedies than other moms-to-be. 

Take a look: Read the rest of this entry »

As most pregnant women know, morning sickness is a lie – that wave of nausea can hit any time. And when it comes, there are few effective remedies for it, according to a new WiserPregnancy survey.

The survey found that pregnant women try, on average, 3 to 4 remedies for morning sickness. Yet none control the condition: Almost two-thirds of respondents (62%) report that no remedies are “highly effective.”

The three most popular remedies to try:

• Eating smaller meals more frequently (76% of women try this)
• Getting more rest (64%)
• Avoiding trigger foods (62%)

Unfortunately, the most effective of these – avoiding target foods – isn’t:  Only 27% of the women who avoided those foods found it “very effective.”

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