# How soon after a woman becomes pregnant does morning-sickness start? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842 "2003-08-08T15:57:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/1 "2003-08-08T15:57:02Z")
One of my friends has bee feeling really sickly in the evenings and she’s about 4 days late for her period. She really believes that she’s pregnant. I am guessing she has the flu or something, because I can’t imagine that she’d already be having “morning sickness.” Is it possible that she’s right? I’ve never been pregnant, so maybe I’m just unaware that symptoms start that early. What do you all think? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/2 "2003-08-08T16:20:19Z")
My girlfriend swears she got out of bed and puked directly after sex. I tend to think it was due to the partner…not the pregnancy. Unless the egg is fertilized right then and there, I don’t think this could be the case. But once it’s fertilized, I think the puke vibe is in motion and there’s no turning back. (Disclaimer: I was not a puker during my pregnancy.) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/3 "2003-08-08T16:25:54Z")
Well, my daughter will be 18 next month, and I still haven’t experienced morning sickness… 😛 According to [this site](http://www.sosmorningsickness.com/whatis.html), it usually starts between the 4th and 6th weeks of pregnancy. Four days seems a wee bit early. ---
**Author:** ![Sunglasses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Sunglasses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunglasses)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/4 "2003-08-08T16:26:35Z")
I started getting sick within two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Entwife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dc4da7/32.png) [@Entwife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Entwife)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/5 "2003-08-08T16:26:52Z")
Something you hear a lot when you’re pregnant is “All pregnancies are different,” which I think is intended to make the pregnant woman not feel like a freak if her experience is different than those of all her friends and relatives. However, it’s not too helpful when you’re looking for concrete answers. So keep that in mind. 🙂 I had morning sickness with my second child at about 2 weeks after conception, which is a little early but not abnormal. So, assuming your friend has a regular menstrual cycle, she would’ve ovulated a little over two weeks ago. She certainly could be having morning sickness this early. Also, if she is eager to become pregnant, she could be imagining the nausea…or she could be legitimately ill and attributing the symptoms to pregnancy. If she is anxious to _not_ become pregnant, worry may be making her feel sick. The best way to tell, of course, is to take a pregnancy test. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/6 "2003-08-08T16:30:43Z")
From everything I’ve read, morning sickness begins in most women around week 4 (generally 2 weeks after conception). The cause is not known, but it may be related to hormonal changes or low blood sugar in the first trimester. So, the timing is indeed valid for her to be feeling m/s. Of course, I didn’t start feeling m/s until week 9, but I seem to be unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/7 "2003-08-08T16:32:21Z")
I think I’m just going to tell her to take a pregnancy test. It will work 4 days after her period was suppposed to start, I think. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/8 "2003-08-08T16:41:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > \*\*According to [this site](http://www.sosmorningsickness.com/whatis.html), it usually starts between the 4th and 6th weeks of pregnancy. Four days seems a wee bit early. \*\* The weeks in pregnancy are typically counted from Day 1 being the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). (Even though this means the first two weeks of “pregnancy” in a normal cycle are pre-conception!) So unless I am missing something in your link, the 4th week of pregnancy would be right on target with when her friend’s period is due, assuming a normal cycle. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/9 "2003-08-08T16:42:57Z")
Low blood sugar. Do you think that would be making her eat a lot? She said that she’s just starving when she gets home, then after she eats she feels sick. I wonder if that’s caused by the low blood sugar. (Of course, she could always just be having a low blood sugar problem with no pregnancy involved). ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/10 "2003-08-08T16:44:52Z")
Good idea on taking that test. I was sick pretty early with both pregnancies. I started getting nauseus the week I was supposed to get my period. I had already gained 2 cup sizes at 5 weeks with this second one! Hormones really do different things to different people… I just hope the results of the test are the ones she wants. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/11 "2003-08-08T16:53:24Z")
Well, according to just about every movie and TV show I ever saw, whenever a woman throws up unexpectedly, it means she’s pregnant… ---
**Author:** ![hedra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/779978/32.png) [@hedra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hedra)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/12 "2003-08-08T16:55:14Z")
I got nausea and bloodsugar crashes before my period was due, for some pregnancies, and no change at all for others. But I also get nausea and the hungries from a strong progesterone surge, too. I have even gotten ‘morning sickness’ the day after I ovulated. No possible way for implantation to have occurred. However, progesterone levels are one of the possible reasons for the nausea in pregnancy (the placenta produces progesterone like crazy at first), so a very happy corpus luteum (the structure that produces progesterone for the pregnancy before the placenta kicks in) can give the same symptoms. Or that’s the theory. It fits my symptoms, anyway. Women on clomid (multiple ovulations, multiple corpus lutea) also have nausea and blood sugar reactions. So, she could have an uncollapsed corpus luteum. It happens sometimes. If she’s been taking unusual amounts of vitamins, perhaps (B vitamins can affect the luteal phase)? Or she could be preggers. If her period doesn’t show, even with a negative test, have her test again in a week. I didn’t test positive until 23 days post ovulation on my last pregnancy, and that was with one of those ‘test before your period is due’ tests (the regular kind was still negative at that point). ---
**Author:** ![hill\_o\_beans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4491bb/32.png) [@hill\_o\_beans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hill_o_beans)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/13 "2003-08-08T16:55:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > \*\*According to [this site](http://www.sosmorningsickness.com/whatis.html), it usually starts between the 4th and 6th weeks of pregnancy. Four days seems a wee bit early. \*\* The site doesn’t say, but I bet they are measuring weeks of pregnancy from LMP (last menstrual period) date. So Week 4 of pregnancy would actually be when your period is due. As soon as the fertilized egg implants (generally 4 to 8 days after fertilization occurs), it starts sending out hormones that say “I’m here! Don’t start your period!” Those are the hormones that can make some women feel sick, have breast tenderness, etc. It’s also this hormone that a home pregnancy test can measure (hCG). With bean #1, I felt sick 5 days after conception. With bean #2, I felt fine and was convinced I wasn’t pg (even though we had been trying and trying to conceive). So it can be different even in the same woman. Almost all home pregnancy tests on the market can measure hCG on the day your period is due. If your period is 4 days late, the test would be extremely accurate. BTW, there are very, very few false positives (unless the test strip itself is somehow defective). If you see that second line, you’re pregnant. There can be false negatives if you test too early or the egg implants later than you think it did…in either case, there wouldn’t be enough hCG in your system yet for the test to measure. hill (who learned waaay too much about all of this stuff when trying to conceive bean #2) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/14 "2003-08-08T16:59:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LilyoftheValley \* > \*\*The weeks in pregnancy are typically counted from Day 1 being the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). (Even though this means the first two weeks of “pregnancy” in a normal cycle are pre-conception!) So unless I am missing something in your link, the 4th week of pregnancy would be right on target with when her friend’s period is due, assuming a normal cycle. \*\* Aw, c’mon - cut me some slack - I’m an engineer, not an OB! 😃 I thought the term “weeks” referred to how many weeks since conception. So obviously, I should not have posted here. But I have to say that although I didn’t get morning sickness, I was pretty sure I was pregnant before I ever missed a period, and I was. I’ll just sit here quietly now. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/15 "2003-08-08T16:59:52Z")
My wife has had three children. Never any morning sickness. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/16 "2003-08-08T17:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > \*\*Aw, c’mon - cut me some slack - I’m an engineer, not an OB! 😃 I thought the term “weeks” referred to how many weeks since conception. So obviously, I should not have posted here. > \*\* Awww…don’t say that! You’re da **Mom**! I just happen to be aware of this because I’m currently counting the weeks. And I never thought I would share with so many people which day I last got my period! :o P.S. I agree with all the folks who say it really varies from person to person. I was talking to a nurse earlier this week who said, “You shouldn’t feel sick, you’re out of the first trimester!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/17 "2003-08-08T17:24:01Z")
In my experience with morning sickness, you feel a bit better after you eat, not worse. Mine started about 3 weeks into the pregnancy. Generally, my very first symptoms were swollen breasts, needing to pee, and general fatigue–like I was coming down with the flu or something. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Simple\_Dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Dreamer)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/18 "2003-08-08T17:48:02Z")
I’ve had 3 babies… never a day of morning sickness. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/19 "2003-08-08T18:33:14Z")
My morning sickness started right away, both times. That’s how I know- I am a couple of days late, I feel like shit, I’m tired and my boobs hurt! ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842/20 "2003-08-08T18:37:40Z")
Very possible for her to be having morning sickness already, Breezy. Looking back I remember feeling “weird” on our anniversary weekend (the week after I conceived, which I guess made me 3 weeks pregnant). I _had_ to have a pizza that weekend, just HAD to have one, and I just had an overall physical feeling of “wow, I feel so WEIRD, what’s up with this?” The sight of ketchup made me want to throw up before I even found out, too. Your friend should test. If she’s already 4 days late and she is pregnant, that stick will turn blue. And if she’s preggers she needs to know so she can get her hands on some folic acid and clean up her nutritional act, if needed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-soon-after-a-woman-becomes-pregnant-does-morning-sickness-start/193842.md?page=2)