Morning Sickness Remedy #1: Food Matters
You probably don’t want to eat, but having some food is better than having none.
When, what and how much you eat can make a big difference to how sick you’ll feel.
When your blood sugar levels are too high or too low, this can cause nausea and even vomiting.
Normally, insulin effectively helps to keep your blood sugar levels stable.
During pregnancy, however, the placenta produces certain hormones that affect your body’s sensitivity to insulin.
These hormones, while essential to a healthy pregnancy, confuse your body’s metabolism and contribute to fluctuating blood sugar levels.
One tip, handed down through the ages, is for newly pregnant women to eat bland carbohydrates, such as toast or crackers, especially first thing in the morning.
But simple carbs are very quickly taken in by the body and can cause dramatic spikes in your blood sugar levels.
Foods that take longer to process, such as protein and complex carbs, help to keep blood sugar more stable, preventing nausea.
Protein is a nutritional building block – and very important when you are pregnant – yet women tend to avoid it in the belief protein foods are too heavy to eat when they are feeling nauseous.
There are many sources of protein.
You can eat animal products (meat, dairy and eggs), nuts and seeds, or combine grains and legumes (important if you’re vegetarian or vegan).
If the idea of eating a boiled egg in the morning makes you retch, don’t stress.
Eat what you can tolerate and then follow up with some protein afterwards.
Some suggestions are:
• Apple with nut butter
• Fruit with yoghurt
• Seed crackers and cheese
• Scrambled egg with toast
• Protein smoothie
To keep your blood sugar levels stable, try experimenting with protein foods when you’re not feeling sick.
Some mamas-to-be swear by having a protein snack in the middle of the night, when they’re up visiting the bathroom (yet again).
Morning Sickness Remedy #2: Acupuncture
The practice of acupuncture has been around for many years.
Traditional Chinese Medicine works on the principle pregnancy interrupts the natural flow of Qi (energy) in the body.
Acupuncture is used to restore the correct flow of Qi, by inserting very fine needles into the skin at certain points.
The western medical world actually agrees.
Women who have found acupuncture helpful recommend having a session every week to maximise the benefits.
Choose a practitioner who specialises in pregnancy care.
Morning Sickness Remedy #3: Electrolytes
Pregnant women are very prone to dehydration and losing electrolytes – particularly if they have been vomiting or not drinking as much water as they should.
Adding electrolytes to your daily routine could make a huge difference.
Some women opt for pre-made drinks or they add an electrolyte powder to water.
Avoid supermarket stocked sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade – they’re full of sugar, which can cause insulin spikes and inflammation.
Doctor Andrew Orr recommends Endura, which you can get from natural health food stores or a naturopath.
Some women prefer to make their own home-made electrolyte solution and freeze it in cubes.
Sucking on ice cubes is a great way to stay hydrated, especially when swallowing food or fluids triggers a gag reflex.
Because hydration demands increase in the post-natal period, it’s a great idea to keep taking electrolytes.
Electrolytes can help you to avoid problems associated with lack of water, including constipation, fatigue and other unpleasant issues like anal fissures (ouch).
Morning Sickness Remedy #4: Chill Out And Rest
Early pregnancy is exhausting. It’s hard to understand why, when you’re not doing anything more active than usual.
But your body is going through some huge adjustments and you’re invisibly putting a lot of energy into growing another human being.
Sleep might be interrupted too, because of the increased need to urinate during the night.
Rest is vital, especially as tiredness can make pregnancy sickness even worse. Take that afternoon nap!
Stress is another factor that can increase your sensitivity to morning sickness.
Meditation, yoga or a soak in a Epsom salts bath can help you to unwind and chill out.
Morning Sickness Remedy #5: Avoid Strong Smells
We often expect the sight of something to be a trigger for pregnancy sickness, but often it’s the smell!
If possible, clean out all areas where you’re likely to come across strong smells, such as your fridge, rubbish bins, and bathrooms.
Better still, organise someone else to do it.
Use a citrus based, non-toxic cleaner, and regularly clean areas, such as cook tops, that are likely to accumulate smells.
Some women say the smell of a cut lemon eases their nausea.
So you might like to have some on hand for those days when you need to open the fridge, and your partner’s not home to do it for you!
One cool trick is to place slices of lemon in a slow cooker and leave it on low, with the lid off.
It will keep your kitchen filled with a lemony scent.
Diffusing essential oils is another popular way of keeping pregnancy nausea at bay.
Avoiding perfumes (yours and others) can also help.
Morning Sickness Remedy #6: Everything Ginger
The humble ginger root has been used as a remedy for stomach upsets for centuries.
The root contains many chemicals – two in particular called gingerols and shogaols.
These chemicals relax the intestinal tract and help to reduce nausea.
There are many different ways you can take ginger – drinking it as a tea, nibbling ginger biscuits, or having some non alcoholic ginger ale.
Some women find fizzy drinks work especially well to combat nausea, and add ginger extract to mineral water.
Experiment to find what works best for you.
Morning Sickness Remedy #7: Vitamin B6
Another reason to eat well during early pregnancy is to make sure you are getting adequate vitamin B6.
This vitamin, also known as pyridoxine, is essential for your baby’s developing brain and nervous system.
The vitamin helps the body to process protein, suggesting it might help those who aren’t getting enough protein in their daily diet.
B6 also helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Some studies have shown women with severe morning sickness have low levels of vitamin B6 in their blood.
It’s important not to take too much vitamin B6, as it can cause problems such as nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, headache, tingling in the hands and feet, and sleepiness.
Pregnant women require only 1.9mg per day, which should be obtained easily in a varied diet that includes fish, nuts and meat.
If you are considering vitamin B6 supplementation you should be aware of the risks of excessive intake of vitamin B6.
It’s often found in multivitamins and prenatal supplements, as well as in many fortified foods.
Always seek your care provider’s advice before increasing your dosage beyond recommended levels.
Morning Sickness Remedy #8: Acupressure Points
In a similar way to acupuncture, treating points with acupressure can also relieve morning sickness.
Acupressure has a long history in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
To alleviate morning sickness, you press the P6 acupuncture point, which is 10 centimetres from your inner wrist, between the two tendons.
An easier way to treat this acupressure point is with travel sickness bands.
People who experience motion sickness or sea sickness tend to use them.
The bands are made of elastic and have plastic studs to stimulate the acupuncture point.
Most women find they need to wear the band constantly, or their morning sickness returns when they remove it.
A customer review states: “I’m pregnant and have been feeling so miserable that I can hardly get out of bed all day. And I randomly thought of putting these sea bands on and it’s like magic!! I feel normal! So I totally suggest these for pregnancy hahaha!
And another: “Thank goodness for these Sea Bands. I leave them on almost all the time (I take them off to shower and sometimes forget to put them back on after) and my body never takes long to remind me when I’ve forgotten. It doesn’t take away ALL the nausea, but they certainly serve their purpose in a safe, natural way. Perfect for pregnancy.”
Morning Sickness Remedy #9 – Acceptance
There’s no doubt that morning sickness is a physical condition (and an unpleasant one at that!).
But that’s not to say the mind doesn’t have a role to play as well.
Cultivating an attitude of acceptance that the nausea you’re experiencing is an integral part of this part of your pregnancy can help.
Of course, you may not be able to rid yourself of morning sickness altogether.
But keeping a positive outlook has been documented to help a woman’s experience of morning sickness.
When the waves of nausea hit, instead of resisting, try stilling your mind, breathe quietly and allow the waves to subside.
You might like to try using a meditation app, like Calm, to help you achieve a bit more peace.
This may not always work, but with practice, you might find that you are able to control the milder bouts this way.
