One of the most common negative consequences of pregnancy is morning sickness. While it doesn’t happen to every expectant mother, those who experience it know that it can be downright debilitating. There is nothing worse than waking up with an upset stomach every day. Luckily, there is an upside to putting up with all that unpleasant nausea.
Research shows that the chemicals that cause morning sickness in pregnant women are actually the same chemicals that cause brain development in babies.
That means that all those times you have had to deal with that horrible morning nausea has a beautiful silver lining — it’s a sign that your baby is growing smarter. At least according to a study that was published in the Journal of Pediatrics a few years back.
Dr. Irena Nulman and colleagues concluded that children exposed to maternal nausea scored higher on IQ tests between the ages of three and seven than did those whose mothers did not experience vomiting of pregnancy (NVP).
“NVP has an enhancing effect on later child outcome. Diclectin does not appear to adversely affect fetal brain development and can be used to control NVP when clinically indicated,” the study said.
Diclectin is a drug commonly prescribed to women during pregnancy to help with nausea. The study showed that Diclectin did not negate the neurodevelopmental benefits induced by NVP though.
Simply put, if you get sick a lot during pregnancy, your odds of having a high IQ kid go way up, even if you use drugs to counteract the nausea.
This isn’t the only study that has shown that morning sickness is actually a good thing, however. Research published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal discussed other additional potential positive benefits.
In this study, doctors demonstrated that expectant mothers who experienced nausea during pregnancy had a significantly reduced risk of having a miscarriage.
It’s a conclusion that “may provide reassurance to women experiencing these difficult symptoms in pregnancy,” the study said.
Indeed, it is very good news.
While nausea is certainly not fun for anyone, at least these studies show that there are actually some benefits to look forward to.
Knowing that there is an underlying meaning to the relentless vomiting helps mothers to tough it out and fight through it. There is a bright side to everything, and when your incredibly high IQ infant comes tumbling out into the world nice and healthy, it will all be worth it.
Mothers who don’t experience nausea during pregnancy need not worry about having “dumb” babies either.
The nausea is just one indication of having a future Einstein in the family, but by no means is it conclusive. If you are concerned about your baby’s intelligence, really, the best thing you can do is just continue to live a healthy, low stress lifestyle, keep your fingers crossed, and hope for the best.
Mother Nature will determine the rest.
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