Pregnancy | Your Wellbeing
Morning Sickness Cures
Congrats on your pregnancy! Finding it hard to believe that a little baby is growing inside of you every day? Some days you will walk around in awe, wishing that your tummy was big enough for everyone to see that you are pregnant! Then there are, of course, those days that you will dread getting out of bed as you know what’s lying ahead: several trips to the bathroom, the pavement or the closest tree – leaving you drained and feeling miserable. If you are like most pregnant women, morning sickness might dampen some of the excitement during your first trimester.
You are not alone! Contrary to what you may read, morning sickness does not necessarily happen during the morning only. The little, bitter monster will probably creep up on you during the afternoons as well. So when does morning sickness start? Every pregnancy is different, but most women find it starts around week six.
Herewith a few morning sickness cures that may help make this dreaded pregnancy side-effect slightly easier to deal with:
- Avoid an empty stomach.
- Have five to six small meals instead of three big meals.
- Eat something small before you get out of bed (you’ve now got permission to keep snacks on your bedside table!).
- Take a combination of Rescue Remedy, Scleranthus and Walnut (buy online or from a health shop).
- Sip on a cup of chamomile or peppermint tea.
- Products that may help are Magen, Amara drops or Nausyn (available at a pharmacy).
- Foods that will help are avo’s, cereal, chewing gum, apples, ginger, marie biscuits, grapes, crackers, potato chips, rice cakes, sorbet and yoghurt smoothies.
- Foods to avoid are tea, coffee, greasy or fried food, cabbage and cauliflower.
- Smells to avoid are coffee, meat and cigarettes.
- Drink small amounts of fluids throughout the day to avoid dehydration.
- Take your vitamins later in the day, with a meal.
Not all of the above will work for everyone, so try them all in order to find the morning sickness cure that works best for you. And do let us know if you find a new remedy!
If you suffer from extreme nausea and vomiting, contact your gynaecologist immediately, as excessive weight loss and dehydration can be harmful to both mom and baby.
Like with anything else this too will pass, and before you know it morning sickness and all its ugly sisters (heartburn, weightgain and the rest of the family) will soon be something of the past! In the meantime, enjoy the fact that your body is creating a whole new person!
it took me 3 pregnancies before i found out that your ante natal vitamins could be making you sick. None of the remedies I tried made me feel better for longer than a few minutes, such as ginger tea, homeopathy, etc.
Once I stopped taking my vitamins I had complete absence of nausea. I take folic acid and will continue my vitamins after the first trimester is over, trying one of the recommended brands, gentler on the digestive system. In the mean time I eat healthily to get other vitamins and minerals in.
Thanks for your advice, Tracy. Although you definitely have a point, it is not really advisable to stop taking your vitamins without discussing it with your gynae first. He might be able to offer an alternative that will ensure that you still get in all your vitamins without the added nausea. We do get a certain percentage of vitamin and mineral intake from healthy food, but it is unfortunately not always sufficient, especially not during pregnancy. It’s also important to remember that every pregnancy is unique – what works for one mom-to-be might not neccessary work for the next.
Click here for more information on vitamin and mineral supplementation during pregnancy.