Battling morning sickness? Here are 5 simple remedies that worked for me!
I have to admit that I feel a little inadequate writing this post on combating morning sickness. I’ve only battled morning sickness one time–in my current (third) pregnancy. (Don’t hate me!)
One misconception about morning sickness is that it is only in the morning–and that it ends like clockwork as soon as you begin the second trimester. Every woman is different. My “morning” sickness actually lasted until about 16 or 17 weeks (although it did weaken in the 2nd trimester) and would start in the afternoon and go into the night.
Not all women with morning sickness even throw up. I never did (again, don’t hate me…I have had TWO stomach viruses during this pregnancy!). Anything from a queasy stomach to severe vomiting can be classified as morning sickness.
The following 5 simple tips are very basic. These are mainly what worked for me. They may or may not work for you. If nothing at all works and your morning sickness does not seem to let up as your pregnancy progresses (and you are vomiting violently several times per day), you may want to talk to your doctor/midwife about Hyperemesis Gravidarum.
Without further ado, here are my 5 very humble, very simple tips for combating morning sickness:
1. Eat upon waking and eat small meals throughout the day (if you are able).
My friend Stacy went through a period where all she could consume was Sprite! I actually stayed quite hungry during my morning sickness, but I could only eat so much at a time without feeling queasy. A lot of people like to stick to very bland foods like crackers, rice, bananas, etc.
2. Avoid your food aversions at all costs.
I will tout the benefits of consuming broths all day long, but I simply cannot make or really even consume them this pregnancy. I finally gave up cooking whole chickens and making broth/stock around 17 weeks–after throwing out an entire chicken and gagging every time I had to enter the kitchen. Remember this is only a season, and you will be able to consume your favorite foods again!
3. Drink a ginger tea.
Now, I’m sure the best ginger tea is one with freshly-grated ginger that you make yourself, but I know that even the most basic cooking tasks can sometimes be difficult during those first few months of pregnancy! I drank the Yogi brand ginger tea, and I recently discovered Earth Mama, Angel Baby’s Morning Wellness Tea. You can get both of these at Vitacost or Amazon.
4. Suck on ginger candies.
This was honestly not my most favorite remedy. I much preferred the tea–but it could have been just the type of candy I had. I purchased an unknown brand from the bulk foods section of my local healthfood store. I also found several different brands on both the Vitacost and iherb websites. It might be worth a try if you cannot find them locally!
5. Change your vitamins.
Some real foodies don’t worry about taking prenatal vitamins. They figure that as long as they are eating well, their diets will give them plenty of what they need. I agree…BUT, the problem is that many of us with morning sickness simply do not eat well. So, I still take a vitamin.
However, about halfway through my bout with morning sickness, I realized that my prenatal vitamins were making me feel even more nauseated. I frequently took them in the late afternoon or evening, and that is when I felt the worst! When I ran out of my vitamins and took my daughter’s vitamins in the meantime, I started feeling better! When I re-stocked, my morning sickness came back! I spoke to my midwife, and she said I could double up on the children’s vitamins. I did this and felt much better–although I had to take one vitamin in the morning and one at night. If I took my full dose at one time, I still felt just as ill.
I am now taking an Omega 3 supplement as well as the Vitacost brand 42 Fruits and Veggies supplement.
Honorable Mention:
Trilight Health’s Morning Soothe liquid herbal formula. Since I did not start using any of Trilight’s formulas until after I was over morning sickness, I cannot vouch for this particular formula, but I do use and love some of their other pregnancy formulas. I would definitely give this one a try if the morning sickness were to return!
What are your tips for combating morning sickness?
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*I have mentioned both Vitacost and iherb several times in this post. I am not an affiliate of these companies, but I do have a referral code that, if used, will give both of us coupons. Vitacost’s first-time customer coupon is worth $5, and iherb’s is worth $5. If you are interested in any of the products I mentioned, I would personally just price compare at both companies–and go with where you can get the best deal! You can get your $5 off Vitacost coupon here, and you can get $5 off your first iherb order by using code: OZU663.
Want to check out another great post on morning sickness? Lauren of Serving from Home has a great post called The Morning Sickness Phenomenon!
Check out the other posts in this series:
- 10 Reasons We Opted to Give Birth at a Birth Center
- Easing Leg Pain During Pregnancy
- A Tale of Two Births: Medicated vs. Natural Hospital Births, part 1
- A Tale of Two Births: Medicated vs. Natural Hospital Births, part 2
- How to Achieve a Natural Birth in a Hospital Setting
- Real Food Pregnancy Cheats/Shortcuts
- OB or Midwife: Finding the Birth Provider Who Works for You
- A Comparison of Birth Settings: Home, Hospital and Birth Center
- Resources for a Natural Pregnancy
- 10 Things Never to Say to Pregnant Women
- Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Much More than Severe Morning Sickness
*Disclaimer: Please consult your trusted healthcare provider before taking any products.
Rebecca
I have read that part of combating morning sickness is liver support–so I have started taking Dandelion root and MIlk Thistle with this pregnancy. I am very early along, and have had a queasy stomach just starting today, but I am hoping the herbs will help keep it at bay (it is best to start them before you conceive).
I take the Vermont FoodScience Prenatal, and I took it last time I was pregnant and nursing also, and never had any problems with it! It’s a whole food, natural prenatal multivitamin.
Enzymes also help me a lot. Whenever I got MS last time, it was due to indigestion and heartburn first. so I try to eat slow, eat small meals often, and take an enzyme. And I eat a LOT of protein. Protein sounds gross, but it helps my blood sugar stay stable. If I eat crackers or soda or anything, my blood sugar goes wacky and then I start to get sicker. Also, eating a lot of foods that support the liver and digestion help.
That’s my humble advice!
Erin
Sounds like you are being really proactive about curbing morning sickness! Thanks for the suggestions–and congrats on your pregnancy!!
Mary
Children are a blessing from the Lord . Having had 12 full term births I have studied why some mothers have morning sickness. Usually, it is because of missing nutrients in the body.
And the reason why taking prenatals on an empty stomach can cause one to throw up is because they are synthetic vit. Not real food vit. And minerals from plants. It really makes a huge difference to take real food supplementts. http://www.healthyanswersonline
Erin
Thanks for the tips!
Kimberly
The acupressure bands you can buy at the drug store helps me some too. I think they are called sea bands. You wear them on your wrist 24/7 and it helps. Especially when combined with some of the other tricks
kristen
i had problems with my prenatals too which i thought were good. according to my midwife though it is very common for them to make you feel sick if you are not taking a food based vitamin. i switched to the rainbow light prenatal (which you can find everywhere now… even target and walmart) and had no more problems. i believe that it even has ginger in their formula to help with morning sickness. i also read a really interesting blog post recently about how lack of magnesium can cause morning sickness… here it is in case you’re interested
http://www.mommypotamus.com/the-real-cause-of-morning-sickness/
Erin
Thanks for the link!! I switched to Vitacost’s 42 Fruits and Veggies (4 each day) in the second trimester, and I had a much better experience with these! They are kind of like Juice Plus.
Mommaof10
Having had 10 pregnancies with extreme morning sickness, I’ve tried everything I ever heard that could *possibly* curb the morning sickness. One thing I’ve learned is that many cases of morning sickness, if not all, are caused by a liver that cannot keep up with cleansing the body of the increased amount of used and needing to be processed out of the body hormones. Eight of my pregnancies were debilitating and unfunctioning. My last two pregnancies were still bad but not totally out of life. The difference was that I was taking milk thistle and dandelion for gallstones, which in turn helped the liver to function better.
I never tried this, but I know others who have gone of the morning sickness bean diet where they ate a couple of tablespoons of cooked beans throughout the day. The beans contain a fiber that grab onto the used hormones to exit them from the body instead of them being recycled through the intestinal wall back into the liver to be reprocessed, overloading the liver.
Most moms I know who have had severe morning sickness also have gallbladder issues, which back up the sluggish liver possibility. I also recommend Beet Root capsules or eating beets daily as beets will thin the bile and help to prevent gallstones.
It was the 3 pregnancies where I did not get sick, that I miscarried. So, while the morning sickness is no fun and can be debilitating in some cases like mine, it was also a reassurance that the baby was doing well.
Erin
Thanks so much for these great tips! I am so sorry to hear of your miscarriages. I think morning sickness can be a reassurance as well. Blessings to you–and thanks for sharing!! 🙂
A
My midwife recommended vitamin b6 3 times daily (50 mg each I believe). This all but wiped out my nausea. If I missed a dose, I could feel the nausea creeping back… Take the dose I missed, and bam – nausea gone. Of course, ask your care provider if it’s appropriate for you, but it worked for me!
Erin
Thanks for the tips!
Dharmaja
Magnesium Oil Spray from Ancient Minerals! Worked like a miracle for me.
Erin
Thanks for the tip!
Robin
Eat lots of fat and protein and fewer carbs. Fat and protein keep you fuller longer so you won’t gain weight from constant snacking on carbs. I also added a magnesium supplement called natural calm that worked wonders and a vitamin b supplement helped too. I ate right before bed as well so my body had something in reserve all night and I wasn’t as sick in the morning. They say morning sickness usually means you’re deficient in something and I have found the better I eat the less morning sickness I have.