Morning Sickness
Morning sickness or nausea related to pregnancy affects around 80% of women (1). From Western medical understanding, the causes are said to be the result of fluctuating and/or changing hormonal states within the body.
From a Unani Tibb perspective, it is usually due to an accumulation of abnormal matter within the stomach, gathered there as a result of the mild (or sometimes major) detoxification the female body goes through during the early stages of pregnancy (2).
When there is an imbalance in the stomach is critical to understand which direction it has gone to - has it become hotter or has it become colder? Understanding this with direct us to its suitable treatment protocol, which is its opposite. What we mean by this is that if it is hotter than 'normal', to ease the morning sickness for the women, we would cold the stomach with a cooling agent and vice versa.
Signs of a Cold Stomach
- Decrease thirst
- Weak digestion
- Pale face
- Soft stool
- Increase appetite
- Belching.
Solutions for this:
- Ginger
- Cardomen
- Bone Broth
Sings of a Hot Stomach
- Increase thirst
- Dry mouth
- Burning sensation in the stomach
Solutions for this:
- Fasting
- Aloe Vera
- Lemon
Most Popular Unani Tibb Remedy
The most popular remedy however is pomegranate as it is both cooling and refreshing. It is a key ingredient in the famous unani tibb formula, Sharbat‑i‑Anar Sheerin, which has been used to treat all forms of nausea as it acts as an antiemetic.
96.7% of pregnant women achieved a reduction in PUQE score and only 3ingredient3% had no reduction, with P < 0.001 statistically signicant [Table 5] (3)
The medicine also works as the following:
- Digestive
- Appetizer
- General
- Tonic
- Hemostatic
- Anti-thirst
- Laxative
- Strengthened of the stomach, liver and heart
- Haematinic
- Deobstruent Refrigerant
References
- Lete I, Allué J. The Effectiveness of Ginger in the Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting during Pregnancy and Chemotherapy. Integr Med Insights. 2016 Mar 31;11:11-7. doi: 10.4137/IMI.S36273. PMID: 27053918; PMCID: PMC4818021.
- Anjum, Arshi & Firdose, Kouser. (2021). Unani Perspective of Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy: A Literary Research. International Journal of Current Research and Review. 13. 121-126. 10.31782/IJCRR.2021.13203.
- Meharunnisa, & Shameem, Ismath & Rajak, Vandana & Sumaiya, Siddiqui & Radhika, K. (2023). Effect of Sharbat-i-Anar Sheerin (pomegranate juice) in nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: A pre- and post-interventional study. Hamdan Medical Journal. 16. 183. 10.4103/hmj.hmj_10_23.
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