Morning Sickness Remedies

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Does the smell of coffee or eggs make you run to the bathroom? What about a nice Stilton? Does the act of getting out of bed make you sicker than you have ever felt? If you are pregnant and sights, smells and tastes that you used to enjoy send you face first into the toilet, then you’ve got morning sickness.

By: Juliet Cohen

Morning sickness is the nauseated feeling you get during pregnancy. Morning sickness, which can actually occur at any time of the day, can really dampen your excitement about being pregnant. Morning sickness, also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) or pregnancy sickness, affects between 50 and 95 percent of all pregnant women as well as some women who use hormonal contraception or hormone replacement therapy.

Morning sickness can occur at any time of the day, though it occurs most often upon waking, because blood sugar levels are typically the lowest after a night without food. Morning sickness usually starts in the first month of the pregnancy, peaks in the fifth to seventh weeks, and continuing until the 14th to 16th week. For half of the sufferers, it ends by the 16th week of pregnancy. Some unfortunate women suffer intermittent episodes throughout their pregnancy.

The most severe form of NVP is called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). HG is considered a rare complication of pregnancy. The percentage of pregnant women afflicted ranges from 0.3% to 2%. This form of morning sickness becomes a problem because women afflicted by HG are unable keep any foods or fluids down and begin to lose a lot of weight. It this happens to you, please seek medical attention. You may need to receive fluids and nutrition intravenously in addition to medication to prevent vomiting.

Women afflicted by morning sickness typically avoid “bitter, pungent, highly-flavored, and novel foods,” or foods which are likely to contain toxins. Women will naturally avoid foods and smells that seem to trigger nausea. Sometimes this will be nearly every food or every smell. Trying to eat a healthy diet can become very difficult when you’ve also got to deal with problems like food aversions, a sensitive sniffer, and a growling, churning stomach. Eat small, frequent meals and snacks throughout the day so that your stomach is never empty.

In addition to the standard American remedies for morning sickness, you might want to check out homeopathic remedies or herbal teas. Some herbal teas and herbs that have been used historically to ease morning sickness are: Anise, Fennel, Ginger root, Peppermint, Chamomile, Red Raspberry and Blessed Thistle.

Some women find that carbohydrates are most appealing when they feel nauseated, but one small study found that high-protein foods were more likely to ease symptoms. Wearing “acupressure” wrist bands, which are sometimes used by passengers on boats to prevent sea sickness, may help some women who have morning sickness. Try taking your prenatal vitamins with food or just before bed. Flat Sprite® is supposedly great at keeping the stomach from churning. Taking powdered ginger root in capsules provided some relief, but be sure to talk to your provider before taking ginger supplements. Ginger, teas, cookies, even the spice can be helpful in preventing nausea.

Morning Sickness Treatment and Prevention Tips

1. Eat frequent small meals, every 2 or 3 hours, rather than 3 large meals daily.

2. Get up slowly and do not lie down immediately after eating.

3. Eat dry crackers 15 minutes before getting up in the morning.

4. Eat more fruits and complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, crackers and pasta. Sensitive stomachs find those foods easier to tolerate.

5. Eat high protein foods as they help fight nausea.

6. Do not skip meals, allowing your stomach to become “empty”.

7. Drink fluids ½ hour before a meal or ½ hour after a meal. Do not drink during your meal.

8. Try eating cold food instead of hot (cold food does not smell as much).

9. Try bland foods, as opposed to spicy foods.

10. Try to avoid fatty foods, which take longer to digest, particularly during pregnancy, when your stomach takes longer to empty.

11. Try taking your prenatal vitamins later in the day or discuss possible alternatives, such as children’s chewables.

12. Try not to get overheated as it seems to agitate morning sickness.

Sheryl’s comment:
Many experts believe that morning sickness is a natural safety mechanism designed by your body to avoid ingesting poisonous substances. This may have evolved from our gatherer ancestors who might have been likely to ingest poisonous plants. Today, the smell of coffee or cigarettes may make a pregnant woman nauseous, but clearly those are substances that are potentially dangerous to her fetus and should be avoided anyway. So as irritating as morning sickness is, it is your body’s way of trying to tell you something so make sure to pay attention!