How to relieve morning sickness during pregnancy naturally?
Nausea and vomiting are frequent followers of pregnancy. Almost 90% of pregnant women meet with morning sickness at least a few times during the first trimester of their pregnancy. As pregnant women want only the best for their babies, they want to overcome it without prescribed medications. But how to relieve morning sickness during pregnancy naturally? Are there any natural remedies to prevent morning sickness? Yes, there are natural remedies that greatly relieve or even stop morning sickness.
With the help of natural remedies and a healthy lifestyle, you can if not overcome it completely, at least, significantly reduce nausea. I know how hard it can be, believe me! To help myself overcome morning sickness, I was finally able to use my knowledge and compiled the list of natural home remedies. By the way, I’ve studied Food Science and Nutrition.
I have gathered all known natural remedies, tips, and advice on how to get rid of morning sickness during pregnancy. Now I am sharing them with you, and I really hope they will help you too!
Facts you should know about morning sickness:
- Morning sickness is a natural and common part of pregnancy.
- Although there are lots of natural remedies that can significantly reduce your nausea, it is possible you won’t get rid of it completely.
- If the first natural remedy you try won’t help, don’t give up! We have gathered the best of them, adding tips, and trick on how to overcome the morning sickness. Try several of them, and I am sure you will find the one that will help you too. All-natural remedies are not suitable for all pregnant women, so be patient and find the one that benefits you the most.
- Morning sickness is mild for most pregnant women, but some unlucky ones have severe nausea, which is accompanied by abnormal vomiting.
Do not hesitate, and visit your doctor:
- if you have severe nausea during the whole day, which is associated with severe vomiting after meals
- when your weight is highly reduced
- if you have signs of dehydration (dizziness, thirst, dry mouth, darker urine, acetone breath)
Natural remedies for morning sickness relief
Eat fruits instead of sugar!
But do not eat it all at once. Have more small portions of fruit during the day. If you stick to this, the level of sugar in the blood won’t drop so fast, and there will be less chance that nausea occurs.
Eat dried fruits, especially apricots. Dried apricots contain plenty of potassium, which is eliminated from your body during vomiting.
READ ALSO: Best fruits in pregnancy
Drink water!
Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration!
Vomiting in pregnancy can cause severe dehydration, which can lead to severe complications. If you vomit frequently, you are in danger of dehydration!
Common signs of dehydration are:
- severe fatigue
- headache
- dizziness
- thirst
- dry tongue
- darker urine
- acetone smelling breath
- nausea
That’s why you need to drink plenty of fluids, especially on hot days, when you also sweat more. In addition to water, you can drink mild herbal teas, mineral water with fruit flavors, and fresh fruit juices.
But drink them cooled! Warm liquids tend to cause more nausea than cold ones.
Avoid alcohol and sweet, carbonated drinks!
Ginger
Pregnant women should have fresh ginger at home! Ginger is the most effective natural remedy against morning sickness during pregnancy.
For some pregnant women, nausea stops very quickly after the first ingestion. If yours won’t, don’t give up! After having the ginger several days, it should significantly relieve your morning sickness too.
You can drink homemade ginger tea. Boil the grated or sliced ginger in water for at least 10 minutes. Remove it from the heat and add the lime juice and honey to enjoy your ginger tea.
If you don’t like the ginger taste, you can buy ground ginger in capsules. Make sure you buy ginger capsules that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not mixed with other substances that may harm your baby.
Ginger biscuits, crystallized ginger, or non-alcoholic ginger beer could also help.
RELATED: Ginger in pregnancy
Peppermint
Peppermint tea calms the stomach. A cup of cold peppermint tea, in fact, works wonders.
It has been shown that peppermint tea decreases the chances of nausea after meals.
If you don’t like tea, you can try peppermint drops instead.
Lemon
Start your day with lemon water. Add a few drops of lemon juice to the first glass of water in the morning.
Have lemonade with little or no sugar if possible during the day!
Lemon can with its smell alone calm the irritated stomach too. Smell freshly cut lemon, or use candles and essential oils with the lemon smell.
Folic Acid
Folic acid is one of the most important vitamins before and during pregnancy. Not only that it is essential for proper baby development, but it reduces nausea too.
Foods rich in folic acid are green leafy vegetables, cereals, and wholegrain bread. But it is also in almost all women’s vitamins. The recommended folic acid daily intake for pregnant women is 400 micrograms per day.
You can read more about folic acid and other important vitamins during pregnancy in our article here.
Vitamin B6, B12, and zinc
They can reduce nausea, so eating the food rich with vitamin B6, B12, and zinc can also help.
- Foods rich in vitamin B6: wholegrain cereals, wheat germ, soybeans, meat, fish, bananas, cabbage, scallions, peppers
- Foods rich in vitamin B12: milk, dairy products, meat, eggs, and cheese
- Foods rich in zinc: sea fish, mushrooms, oats, dry vegetables and fruits
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Tips for morning sickness relief
Eat small portions:
Eat small and frequent meals, and eat them slowly. The point is, you should try to avoid having a full stomach. Eat small amounts and slow, every hour or two!
Eat plain foods:
Avoid spicy foods, fatty foods, and foods with a strong odor. Have foods high in proteins and carbohydrates, like crackers, wholemeal bread, or low-fat yogurt.
Go slowly into a new day:
Let your hubby brings you warm tea, rusks, toast, or crispbread into the bed in the morning. He should spoil you during pregnancy anyway.
If that is not possible, prepare yourself a thermos with hot tea, and healthy snacks on your nightstand before you go to bed.
A small snack before you start the day will increase your blood sugar, which is one of the causes for your nausea.
Acupressure:
When sickness occurs, immediately press on the inside of your wrist.
Turn the palms outwards, and press with three middle fingers of the opposite arm at the right angle to the wrist. Press the point in the middle of the wrist firmly and hold it for a few seconds. Repeat twice or three times, until nausea goes by.
You can also buy an anti-nausea wristband which is pressing those points all the time.
A study in Europe has shown that this way morning sickness is reduced in 64% of pregnant women. Try it, because this is might the solution for you!
Have enough rest!
Reading, listening to music, and a good old afternoon snooze. You need enough rest during pregnancy! Take time for yourself several times a day, sit comfortably, and raise your feet.
Keep in mind that excessive work and stress also cause nausea. If you can not take the time to rest at work, at least walk around the office several times.
Sometimes a conversation with an experienced friend, family member, or doctor also helps to reduce nausea.
You probably question yourself why would conversation help. State of mind plays a bigger role in causing sickness that we think. Worrying if everything’s going to be okay during pregnancy, if your unborn baby is OK, and if you’re ready to be a parent, can upset your stomach too.
Fresh smells:
Try smelling fresh odors, such as fresh lemon, lemon, mandarin, or peppermint oil, when nausea occurs.
Homeopathy:
Homeopathic medicines prescribed by a qualified homeopath are highly effective as well. Bi complex 22 has been proven to be very good.
Vomitusheel which are drops against vomiting also helps.
Consult an experienced homeopathic expert and your health care provider before you take any homeopathic medicine!
Morning shower:
Morning hot/cold shower therapy works beneficially on your body. Always start with hot water! Shower with warm water (2 to 3 minutes), then continue with cold water for ten to fifteen seconds. Repeat the process twice.
A hot/cold shower will stimulate the blood circulation so you will teach your body to regulate the body temperature better. That means less sweating, you will rarely have cold feet, and you will strengthen your immune system too.
Why do pregnant women get morning sickness?
The precise mechanism is not known, but there are several theories that try to explain why nausea and vomiting occur in pregnancy. However, nausea probably occurs because of the combination of many factors.
Morning sickness during pregnancy comes from hormonal imbalances, vitamin deficiency, low levels of blood sugar, a more pronounced perception of odors, lack of movement, fatigue, stress, constipation, anxiety, and various other concerns related to pregnancy.
The morning sickness seems to be more typical for the first child, and multiple pregnancies too.
Theories about what causes morning sickness:
1. Endocrine theory about the cause of morning sickness:
According to endocrine theory, nausea and vomiting are caused by a higher level of hormones (hCG and estrogen) in the blood. The values of both hormones increase at the beginning of the pregnancy when nausea is the strongest. hCG also affects the increased excretion of thyroxine, which also causes nausea and vomiting.
2. Psychosomatic theory about morning sickness:
Psychosomatic theory associates excessive nausea and vomiting in pregnancy with unsettled social status (lack of emotional support of partner and family, lack of information about pregnancy, unwanted or unplanned pregnancy …). Depression is associated with pregnancy with severe vomiting.
3. Metabolic theory:
The metabolic theory explains that nausea occurs due to a lack of vitamin B6 and a disorder in the metabolism of sex hormones in the liver.
4. Allergic theory:
The allergic theory explains nausea as a response of the body on substances secreted by yellow bodies, a response to the partner’s sperm, or a reaction to the fetus as a new antigen in the body of the pregnant woman.
When does morning sickness start?
Morning sickness often starts by the middle of the 5th week of pregnancy, so a week and a half after your missed period. However, this is not a rule. For example, 13% of women get it already before the missed period.
What is the worst week for morning sickness?
The morning sickness is usually at its worst at about 9 weeks. Most women feel better in their second trimester, but some have morning sickness throughout the whole pregnancy.
When does morning sickness stop?
Most pregnant women will experience nausea only for the first trimester, however some women, unfortunately, have it right up until their due date. That’s all normal.
Can morning sickness suddenly stop?
Yes, it can, and often do!
A sudden stop of nausea can be a sign of miscarriage, but you should experience other miscarriage signs too.
Common signs of miscarriage:
- vaginal bleeding
- a fluid discharge from the vagina
- a tissue discharge from the vagina
- cramping and pain in your lower tummy
- pregnancy symptoms are no longer present (nausea and breast tenderness)
Do all pregnant women have morning sickness?
Almost all, at least in a mild form.
The sickness is usually more severe for pregnant women who carry two or more fetuses because the level of hormones is higher than in a single pregnancy.
The morning sickness is often more noticeable in pregnant women whose pregnancy is unplanned or not desirable.
Pregnant women, who have had motion sickness when on the boat, in car or airplane, and those who had migraines before pregnancy, are also more likely to suffer from nausea.
Can you predict which women will have morning sickness during pregnancy?
The answer is similar to the previous answer. Morning sickness is more often:
- if you are carrying two or more babies
- if the pregnancy is unwanted
- if you have motion sickness
- if you have migraine
But it is not the fact that you will have morning sickness if you have one of these conditions. And the opposite, it is not the fact you won’t have it if you don’t have one of these conditions.
When should you visit a doctor due to morning sickness, and how can he help?
You should visit your doctor:
- if you have severe nausea followed by vomiting after several times a day
- it your body weight reduces by 10 pound
- if signs of dehydration occur (dizziness, thirst, dry tongue, darker urine, acetone smelling breath)
The doctor will help you with infusions of fluids, electrolytes and vitamins, and anti-sickness medications.
Is no morning sickness a bad sign?
The absence of morning sickness is definitely not a bad sign!
Yes, many doctors claim morning sickness actually indicate a healthy pregnancy. Studies have also shown that women who suffer from morning sickness have fewer miscarriages.
But if you don’t have it, don’t be scared. If everything else is OK, the absence of nausea simply means you belong to a small group of pregnant women that have been spared with nausea.
Does the hCG hormone cause morning sickness?
Nobody knows exactly why nausea occurs, but it probably has a link to high hormone values of hCG (human gonadotropin) and estrogen too. In the second trimester, the level of both hormones drops. Usually, during the same time, nausea stops too, so both hormones are likely to be linked with morning sickness.