Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, often known as morning sickness, is very common in early pregnancy. A common misconception is sickness only affects you in the morning, whereas, it can affect you at any time of the day or night or, in some cases, you may feel sick all day long. Here we have put together some tips and tricks to hopefully make things easier for all you mamas-to-be!
Does it seem like you’ve got a bout of seasickness? Or a bad case of butterflies in your tummy? That’s how many pregnant women describe pregnancy nausea and vomiting, also known as morning sickness.
Morning sickness typically starts at around week 6 of pregnancy. (No wonder it’s one of the first tell tale signs you’re expecting — that’s only a week after your hCG hormone levels have risen enough to produce a positive pregnancy test).
Some mums find that the nausea kicks in a little later between weeks 7 to 9. For the vast majority of expectant mums, nausea and vomiting typically tends to subside between weeks 12 and 16 of pregnancy, with symptoms at their worst from weeks 10 to 16.
With that being said, some women experience nausea and vomiting up until the third trimester or throughout their whole pregnancy.
How To Relieve Nausea & Vomiting In Pregnancy
You may find some relief with these home remedies for morning sickness:
- Avoid smells that trigger nausea.
- Take a prenatal vitamin with a meal.
- Keep a snack by your bed. Nausea is most likely to strike when your stomach is empty, like it is following a night’s sleep. Eat foods that are low in fat and easy to digest, like crackers or cereal.
- Aim for six mini-meals throughout the day (rather than three large ones).
- Brush your teeth after every meal. A fresh-tasting mouth may prevent queasiness, and decreases the risk of damage to teeth from vomiting.
- Get plenty of rest if you can (tiredness can make nausea worse).
- Eat cold foods rather than hot ones if the smell of hot meals makes you feel sick.
- Eat foods or drinks containing ginger – there’s some evidence ginger may help reduce nausea and vomiting (check with your pharmacist before taking ginger supplements during pregnancy).
- Try acupressure – there’s some evidence that putting pressure on your wrist, using a special band or bracelet on your forearm, may help relieve the symptoms.