Morning Sickness
8 tips to help you manage morning sickness.
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
Nursery-decorating and name-choosing is much more fun than nausea, but when you’re pregnant, morning sickness is often part of the program.
It affects up to eight in 10 mums-to-be, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy, and although some women get away with a touch of queasiness around breakfast time, others feel super sick, day and night.
Nausea, loss of appetite and vomiting may be expected from around Week Four of a pregnancy, and these symptoms can be hard to bear – especially if you’re suffering in silence at work, because it’s too early to announce your pregnancy.
Reminding yourself that you’re growing a bundle of joy might make you feel a little better, but practical changes to what you eat, drink, wear and prepare can really help to ease the quease.
Here are eight things to try when morning sickness strikes:
1. Eat what feels right.
A fried breakfast and stiff coffee obviously isn’t the best way to start the day when you’re feeling hypersensitive to strong smells and flavours!
Instead, snacking on a couple of dry crackers and sipping something inoffensive (like water or weak tea) while you’re still in bed can help with morning sickness.
From there, it’s a good idea to avoid triggering foods and eat what you feel like eating.
Fatty and spicy foods are likely to be nauseating, but carbs, like bread, and protein-rich foods, like nuts, may go down well.
It also helps to have a variety of snacks at hand, in case your tastes change throughout the day.
For instance, you might find that a plain, sweet biscuit sits well before breakfast and a crisp apple works closer to lunch.
Chewing mint or ginger can also help to ease nausea, with the added bonus of freshening your mouth.
2. Consume small portions, more often.
An empty stomach can be nausea-inducing, but instead of forcing down three square meals a day, try to eat smaller meals, more regularly.
If you feel sick, you may be tempted to skip breakfast or have a late lunch, but this can actually exacerbate nausea, so a ‘small and steady’ approach is preferable, with snacks sandwiched between meals.
3. Stay hydrated.
Although you might be having trouble keeping food down, it’s really important to keep your fluids up.
If you’re struggling to gulp big glasses of water, then you can sip small amounts at a time, suck some ice, try soda water, or see how another kind of drink goes down.
Flat lemonade and dry ginger ale are sometimes easier to stomach than water, and you can also hydrate with ginger or peppermint tea, juice, cordial, weak tea or clear soup.
4. Take a break from meal preparation.
Early pregnancy isn’t a great time to be preparing curried egg sandwiches and other aromatic dishes, and if the merest whiff of a meal is making you feel sick, then it’s time to delegate food prep and cooking to your nearest and dearest.
If you haven’t got someone to step in, then cold foods are generally less aromatic than hot ones (except for those egg sandwiches), and steamed hot food is easier to handle than fried stuff.
A bit of cross-breeze in the kitchen also helps to make food smells less nauseating.
5. Rest up, generally.
Fatigue is very common in the first trimester (not to mention the third!) and moving around can sometimes make morning sickness worse, so take things slow whenever possible and embrace the nap!
Deep breathing, meditation and mindfulness helps some women manage morning sickness, and Catherine – Princess of Wales and severe morning sickness sufferer – can attest to the benefits of this.
6. Dress for success.
Tight waistbands and belts don’t do you any favours when you’re suffering from morning sickness, and because your bump will only get bigger, you may as well embrace looser clothing early on!
Smock dresses are super comfy, and it’s possible to look sharp for work, without being cinched into a tight suit.
7. Speak to your pharmacist.
A good pharmacist will be able to give you some nausea-relief options and they may recommend an acupressure wristband or some ginger tablets.
If you’ve lost fluid and electrolytes through vomiting, they might also suggest an oral rehydration solution that will put back the liquid and minerals your body needs.
8. Make a medical appointment if morning sickness persists.
With a bit of luck, your morning sickness will go by Weeks 12 to 14 of your pregnancy, but if you’re finding it hard to handle, or the symptoms just won’t stop, then you should talk to your doctor or midwife.
Some women feel sick for their whole pregnancy, and severe morning sickness can cause weight loss, dehydration and low feelings, like depression and anxiety, so it’s important to get help if you need it.
A safe dose of vitamin B6 or a prescribed medicine might assist with symptoms. Acupuncture from a qualified practitioner is also an option, and whether you’re feeling a bit ‘blergh’ or are horribly ill, you can take some comfort in the fact that morning sickness doesn’t last forever.
In the not-too-distant future, you’ll be hugging your newborn, instead of the toilet bowl, and we hope you find a few strategies that ease the quease until then!
The above tips are adapted from HealthDirect, Pregnancy, Birth & Baby and Better Health Channel, and these sites are a great source of help.
For instance, HealthDirect’s Symptom Checker tells you what to do if you’re experiencing pregnancy problems.
And Pregnancy, Birth & Baby’s free video call service enables you to chat with a maternal child health nurse face-to-face, seven days a week, from 7am to midnight (AET).
You can also call 1800 882 436 to speak with them voice-to-voice.
