When morning sickness strikes during surrogacy, it’s can be more than a little unpleasant. Some women seem to sail through their pregnancies without an issue, while others have trouble holding down crackers. Science has yet to explain exactly why we are feeling sick in the morning, let alone why some women have it and some don’t, or why it is worse in some pregnancies than others, even with the same woman. They think it could be related to the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HGC), but this doesn’t explain why 15% of women manage to escape it. On the plus side, researchers have discovered a few uncanny things it’s connected to that just might make you feel glad you’re queasy.

Women with Morning Sickness are Less-Likely to Miscarry

Although the results have been wide-ranging, several studies have looked into whether morning sickness correlates to maintaining a pregnancy. Women who don’t go through it at all are somewhere between three and ten-times more likely to miscarry. Similarly, the likelihood of having a preterm birth is also reduced by about 3%.

Morning Sickness Can Lead to a Smarter Baby

Interestingly, babies tend to have a higher IQ if morning sickness is part of the pregnancy equation. One study checked in with moms seven years after their children were born and gave the children IQ tests. The average score is generally around 100, but 21% of babies that were born to morning sickness-prone moms scored 130 or above, compared to a mere 7% of the other group.

Babies Tend to Be Healthier, Too

Overall, babies born to mothers who had morning sickness are healthier. In a huge poll of data, it was discovered that the risk of birth defects was reduced 30-80% for those who suffered at least a little morning sickness.

Preventing Morning Sickness During Surrogacy

There is no 100% cure for morning sickness, though your physician may be able to prescribe something that can help if your case is extreme, affecting your intake, or causing trouble with your routine. For most women, it’s just a nagging feeling that passes during the day, and only affects them during the first three months of surrogacy. If you’re struggling, you may want to try these tricks:

Eat first thing in the morning. Sometimes if you can get something in your body in the first few minutes you’re awake, you’ll feel better throughout the day.

Focus on protein and eat small amounts all day. Grazing can help a lot, and protein will help you sustain your energy.

Listen to your body. If you need rest, take it. If you feel like something’s not right, contact your doctor.

If you’d like to add to your family via surrogacy or you already have a family and you’d like to help someone else complete theirs, we’d love to hear from you. SPS is an established California surrogacy agency that specializes in helping people find their ideal match and stands beside them throughout the process. Contact us today for more information.