Morning Sickness in Pregnancy: Easy Ways You Can Manage Yours

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Morning Sickness in Pregnancy: Easy Ways You Can Manage Yours

Morning sickness in pregnancy can be the pits! However, like most things in life, it can be successfully managed to give you a healthy, stress-free pregnancy journey.

Before I became pregnant with my daughter, I used to view pregnancy and morning sickness through fairy tale tinted glasses. Hollywood paints a picture of ease during this time; throw up a couple of times, and then go on to have a wonderful baby that would make everyone “ooh” and “aah” upon seeing her.

Of course, the reality of pregnancy is much, much different and morning sickness can be horrible!

Related: 5 Quick Remedies for Morning Sickness

However, while morning sickness in pregnancy is most times bad, its severity differs from woman to woman; some women truly have the Hollywood-type symptoms and get no more than the occasional headaches. On the other end of the spectrum are women who aren’t so lucky and experience the more severe type termed hyperemesis gravidarum.

Of course, there’s no denying that despite the woes of morning sickness pregnancy is a wonderful time; there’s a new life growing inside of you and the feeling of joy this knowledge brings is indescribable.

Morning sickness typically begins from the fifth to seventh week of pregnancy and should be subsiding by the 12th. However, for a few unlucky women, this condition lasts all through.

What Causes Morning Sickness?

Doctors can’t say categorically what causes morning sickness in pregnancy. However, it is believed a hormone shift, especially the rise in two hormones, the Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and estrogen are the likely culprit.

Other reasons why women experience morning sickness in pregnancy include a fall in their blood sugar and or a heightened sense of smell which typically begins in the first 12 weeks.

Morning sickness is always easy to pinpoint and a typical sign you are having one is the feeling of nausea you start to get accompanied by mild to severe vomiting.

Related: 8 Fun Facts About Morning Sickness

Other important Facts about Morning Sickness in Pregnancy

• Women who experience very severe vomiting are said to be experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that affects 1 in every 300 pregnant women.
• it is an extreme form of morning sickness characterized by severe nausea and vomiting that could run the entire day.
• Certain foods or smells can trigger a vomiting episode and even when you stop eating these foods, the vomiting doesn’t stop for that day. You should learn to identify which are yours to avoid them. Some such foods include onion, garlic, spicy foods, caffeine, and very acidic fruits.
• Some women have tried managing their morning sickness by skipping meals altogether, but this just made the situation worse.
• Some cases of hyperemesis gravidarum can be treated at home using simple home remedies like peppermint or ginger herbal supplements, and motion sickness wrist bands that apply subtle pressure to your wrists.

Common Morning Sickness Symptoms to Look Out For

Some other symptoms of morning sickness you can expect to experience besides nausea and vomiting include:

• Persistent headache
• Dehydration (happens mostly with malaria)
• Frequent urination and incontinence
• Heartburn
• Fatigue
• Bloating and Constipation
• Food aversion
• Dizziness
• Acne
• High Blood Pressure

The above are symptoms you are likely to experience while pregnant. However, you might want to console yourself with the fact morning sickness in pregnancy isn’t all bad as research has shown it is a sign of a healthy pregnancy less likely to end in a miscarriage.

Some Proven Remedies to Help Manage the Symptoms

Here are some proven ways to manage your morning sickness:

• Take a cup of ginger tea when you feel nausea coming on. Ginger is a great herbal remedy and will bring you instant relief from nausea and vomiting.
• Peppermint tea has also been known to calm troubled stomachs and keeps vomiting at bay.
• Chewing on saltine crackers will also help calm your stomach.
• Stay hydrated by drinking lots of fluid daily; at least 300ml extra.
• You might not be able to take large quantities at a time, but it is important you keep your fluid intake up by taking small sips as often as you can.
• Wear a Sea-Band Anti-Nausea Acupressure Wristband that has been clinically proven to help relief nausea.
• To prevent heartburn, opt to eat smaller meals, and stay in an upright position for 30 minutes or more after each meal.

Other proven ways to cure heartburn include taking ginger tea or candies, taking a glass of milk, dissolving a teaspoon of honey in warm milk, and taking antacids (strictly on your doc’s prescription).

• Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. This won’t just help with constipation, but will also provide needed vitamins for you and your developing baby. You should, however, avoid fruits high in acidity.
• Taking lots of liquid or prune juice also helps soften the stool if you battle with constipation.
• If you suffer from persistent headaches, use a cold compress, or try to avoid stressful situations as this triggers headaches.
• Know your morning sickness triggers and avoid them.
• Eat foods that are known not to trigger vomiting tings like toast, simple soups, salty crackers pretzels, lemon water, and flavored popsicles.
• Get enough rest as stress has also been known to trigger morning sickness in pregnancy.
• Keep active and carry your doctor along so he works out the best exercise plan for you.
• Wear loose-fitting clothes, again restrictive cloying brings discomfort and could trigger morning sickness.
• Take your supplements daily, but if you find they make you sick, you might want to take them just before bedtime, that way you will sleep through most of the sick feelings.
• Find a support group alone. This will help a lot as you’ll find sharing woes with women going through the same experience is comforting and will help you get through the worse days.

There are tons of pregnancy groups on Facebook or if you’d want a more physical one, you could try searching for one in your locality.