Morning sickness is characterized by nausea, vomiting, poor appetite and depression.
Concerns about the effects of medication on the fetus prompt many women to choose alternative therapies, such as acupressure, which researchers now say may be ineffective. Acupressure is a part of Chinese medicine, and is usually given in the form of wristbands to treat nausea. To determine the effectiveness of acupressure, British researchers used acupuncture instead for more accurate measurements of the effects of pressure on morning sickness. Acupuncture delivers pressure to relevant 'chi', or energy, points in the body with needles instead of pressure on the surface of the skin. Fifty-five randomly chosen women between their 6th week and 10th week of pregnancy were treated with acupuncture or a fake treatment.