Morning sickness can be one of the most daunting parts of pregnancy. More than half of pregnant women experience morning sickness, while around 80% of women experience some type of nausea before their baby is born. While there is no remedy to cure morning sickness, there are some natural things you can try to help ease your symptoms and allow you to feel a bit better.
Let’s dive into a few natural morning sickness remedies.
Things to Try
- Never go on an empty stomach. Eating small, frequent meals can help you tame morning sickness symptoms. Snacking throughout the day may help offset what your pregnancy hormones are doing to your digestive system.
- Sleep. Sleeping is your body’s way of naturally healing/resetting. Listen to your body when it tells you that you’re tired. Sleeping at night and taking naps during the day can help calm your body and mind. Not only does your body need it, but you don’t feel the queasiness when you’re asleep. Stress and fatigue can make morning sickness worse.
- Eat nutritionally dense foods. You may not feel like you can eat very much, but as best you can, eat foods that will nourish your body. Consuming adequate protein, fat, and complex carbs can help regulate your blood sugar and help things to stay down. Try eating plain, nutritionally dense snacks such as fruit, brown rice, whole wheat crackers, and avocado. If you cannot stomach these foods, try drinking bone broth.
- Fresh air and exercise. You probably don’t feel like working out if you’re sick all the time. Instead of exercise, try a gentle walk, swimming, or some calming yoga. Just 20 minutes a day can help release endorphins that will temporarily soothe your system and counteract your fatigue and nausea.
- Don’t take prenatal vitamins on an empty stomach. Some prenatals can make your stomach feel queasy. It’s counterproductive to take a vitamin that could make you feel queasy when you already feel terrible. Try taking them after dinner when your stomach is full and you’re close to going to bed.
- Get plenty of fluids. If you’re vomiting often you could get dehydrated. Any amount of liquid is beneficial. Try juice, pregnancy safe sports drinks, smoothies, slushy’s, or freezer pops. Avoiding dehydration is important for your health and the health of your baby.
- Acupressure/acupuncture Both of these techniques can be used to effectively treat nausea. Acupressure/acupuncture can be used to hit certain nerve centers in the body by using gentle pressure or tiny needles. Going to a professional, learning how to do self massage, and wearing Sea Bands are all beneficial ways to use acupressure/acupuncture. For maximum benefits, repeat some type of mini massage every two hours.
Other Natural Remedies
- Vitamin B6 Many doctors and midwives recommend vitamin B6 as a natural remedy for nausea. Consuming extra vitamin B six has been shown to reduce morning sickness symptoms in many pregnant women. Try taking it three times a day in addition to your prenatal vitamins.
- Ginger Ginger naturally reduces nausea and vomiting. Try drinking ginger tea or soda, sucking on ginger chews or lollipops, and putting it in soups.
- Peppermint Smelling peppermint can help you feel more relaxed and last nauseated. Keeping peppermint nearby is a great way to mask unpleasant odors that may trigger your morning sickness. Some people chew peppermint gum and keep peppermint lip balm in their pocket. (Be careful about ingesting peppermint in early pregnancy as large amounts of it may cause you to bleed.)
- Magnesium Magnesium deficiency can exacerbate morning sickness in some women. Try eating plenty of high magnesium foods or supplementing it. Epsom salt baths and magnesium oil are a couple of other excellent way to increase your magnesium intake. (Be careful not to get your bath too hot when you’re pregnant)
- Potatoes Potatoes have alkalizing properties and may help settle your stomach. They also help absorb excess stomach acid which could help with any morning sickness related heartburn.
- Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Red raspberry leaf tea has been used for thousands of years by pregnant women because of its many fertility-related benefits. One of those benefits is easing your stomach by reducing nausea and vomiting. But even if it doesn’t keep you from being sick, it is still packed with essential vitamins and nutrients.
When to Call Your Doctor
Some morning sickness is severe and may need to be treated by a doctor. Hyperemesis gravidarum (or HG) can lead to severe dehydration, malnutrition, weight loss, and electrolyte imbalance. Your doctor may prescribe IV fluids or anti-nausea medicine. Be sure to do your research on any medications you take in pregnancy so that you can make the best decision for yourself and your baby. Hyperemesis gravidarum cannot be cured, (the only cure is having your baby) but I can be managed. Let your doctor or midwife know right away if you are experiencing severe and frequent vomiting.
In Conclusion
No matter how long or short your morning sickness lasts, it’s still a struggle to get through. Every pregnancy has a finish line and morning sickness will end at some point. For some women, that’s around 12 to 14 weeks, for others it’s when your baby is born. Either way it won’t last forever.
I hope you were able to find something here that will help to settle your stomach. Either way, you’re a rockstar mama! You can do this!
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