Tips and Tricks For Morning Sickness

The Ultimate Guide for Expectant Mothers

a woman holding her pregnant stomach

If you are or have ever been pregnant, there’s a great chance that you’ve dealt with morning sickness. However, not everyone deals with it during their pregnancies. When it comes to morning sickness, you might already have your own remedies for how to handle it. If you’re currently dealing with morning sickness and don’t know how to relieve the nausea, this is the place for you! Remember, different things work for different people, so if something listed doesn’t work for you, try another suggestion! It might take some time to find what works for you. 

In this article we will be talking about the following:

  • What to expect for morning sickness
  • What you should eat and what you should avoid
  • Other tricks to handle morning sickness
The stages of pregnancy broken down into trimesters.
Morning sickness occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Image courtesy of babylifetime.

What You Should Know 

Setting Your Expectations For Morning Sickness

You’ve probably heard about people experiencing morning sickness at some point during their pregnancy, but what exactly is morning sickness? It’s a symptom of pregnancy that usually consists of nausea and vomiting. It occurs during the first trimester, or up to the fourth month of your pregnancy. 

If you’re new to pregnancy and just trying to get familiar with the whole concept, there are three trimesters that you go through during your pregnancy. The first trimester is from week 1 to week 12, the second is from week 13 to week 26, and the third is from week 26 until you give birth. 

Even though it’s called “morning sickness”, that doesn’t mean that it only occurs in the morning. You can experience morning sickness during any time of the day. There are quite a few things that can trigger it as well, such as certain smells or spicy foods. The triggers vary from person to person. Someone might get nauseous at the smell of a certain food and another person might not be phased by that food. Of course, you might not even be triggered by anything at all. Morning sickness can just strike whenever it feels like it. 

Since everyone experiences pregnancy differently, not everyone gets morning sickness. There are certain cases where women are considered to be more likely to experience morning sickness. For example, if a woman has experienced motion sickness before pregnancy, she is more likely to get morning sickness while she is pregnant. You also might be more at risk for morning sickness if you experienced it in previous pregnancies, or if you are having twins. 

If you are currently experiencing morning sickness, we will be diving into some tips on how to handle it in the sections below. 

Tea and ginger are good to treat morning sickness.
Eating certain foods while you’re pregnant can help to reduce nausea and aid in morning sickness relief. Image courtesy of firstcry parenting.

Foods To Help You Get Through It

The Do’s and Don’ts of What You Should Eat to Relieve Morning Sickness

During your pregnancy, there are certain foods that you can eat to help relieve the nausea that you are experiencing. There are also certain foods that you should steer clear from to help avoid the nausea. 

Below is a list of certain foods and drinks to help relieve you during the unpleasant times.

Crackers

People have probably told you many times to try eating crackers when you’re nauseated, but that’s because they really do help! It’s probably best to have bland crackers handy, because those will probably settle better. Once you begin to feel nauseous, eat a few of the crackers, and it should help to reduce the feeling. If you tend to get sick in the morning, keep a few crackers by your bed and eat some before you get up to start the day. It also might be a good idea to get some crackers that are high in protein.

There are many brands that are good to munch on during this time, but we will include a few different ones that we recommend. Saffron Road is a good brand that is high in protein. You can potentially find these at Whole Foods, or you can order them on Amazon. Mary’s Gone Crackers is another good brand for you to purchase. You can also find these at Whole Foods or buy them on Amazon.

Ginger

If you’re feeling nauseated, it’s a good idea to have ginger to help settle your stomach. You can drink Ginger ale or use ginger tablets, whatever one works for you. Even if you’re not pregnant, it’s good to have ginger on hand to help with stomach issues. As soon as you start to feel nauseated, you should ingest ginger. Here are some recommendations for products we like.

Ginger Rescue Tablets are very helpful when it comes to settling your stomach. You can also find these at Whole Foods, or if you don’t have the time to shop, order them online. Urban Moonshine Calm Tummy Bitters helps with any kind of stomach issue, so it’s good to have this item around. You can find it on Amazon.

Lollipops & Lozenges

Sucking on a lollipop or lozenge is a good way to settle the stomach when you’re feeling nauseous. The sugar helps to calm your stomach and they prevent your mouth from getting dry which helps. If you’re dealing with morning sickness, suck on lollipops or lozenges throughout the day to help you feel better. If you don’t know what to try, here are some good items. Traditional Medicinals Morning Ease Lemon Ginger lozenges are a great herbal supplement to ease morning sickness. You can find them on Amazon. YumEarth Organic Lollipops are also good to suck on, and you find them at your local target or online.

Tea

Once you start to figure out when you usually start to get sick, you can drink some tea before and during to help prevent or reduce the nausea. A good brand is Earth Mama, and you can find it at Target. You can also google what teas are good for morning sickness and try those brands as well, or you can ask a friend what they used. If there’s a particular brand that you’ve used before and liked, let others know. 

Foods to Avoid if You Have Morning Sickness

So, now that we’ve gone over what foods help, we should probably go over what you should avoid. 

  • Spicy Foods. These upset your stomach and bring on the nausea, so try to avoid eating these if possible. If you are craving something and it’s spicy, see if it’s possible to reduce the level of spice.
  • Greasy Foods. The oils in the food can upset your stomach and make you feel sick, so try to avoid greasy foods while you’re pregnant. 
  • Caffeine. Try to drink decaf beverages when you’re pregnant and avoid caffeine as much as possible. 

If you know of anything else that works, make sure to share it with your friends. And if you’re looking for more things to try, you can always do a quick google search. There are many different options out there, so if you haven’t found something that works, keep looking!

Taking short naps helps with pregnancy.
Taking short naps throughout the day and resting helps with morning sickness. Just make sure to keep crackers on hand to help prevent nausea when you wake up. 

Other Tricks for Morning Sickness

5 Other Tips That Will Help You Tackle It

There are other things you can do to reduce motion sickness besides eating certain foods. There are plenty of other natural remedies that don’t involve food. Some of these other options are listed below.

  • Nap the Day Away. Don’t literally nap the entire day away, but take little naps throughout the day. Remember to keep the crackers handy in case morning sickness strikes again. 
  • Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated is so important whether you’re pregnant or not. It helps with so many things and just makes you feel better throughout the day. Remember you need to drink enough water for two people now. It can be helpful to get a bottle that helps you keep track of how much you should be drinking throughout the day. 
  • Get some fresh air. Go outside for a little bit and breathe in the fresh air. It’s good for you and can help you to relax. 
  • Exercise and do yoga. This can help some people to relax and reduce nausea when pregnant, just remember to go easy and not push yourself.
  • Take a whiff of anything citrus. Studies show that citrus scents tend to reduce nausea in pregnant women, so slice up that lemon and breathe in it’s scent. You can also make lemon water with the lemon which has also been known to help calm stomachs. 

Hopefully this article helps you in finding ways to reduce your morning sickness. If you have other tricks that work, make sure to share them with your friends and help them get through this tough time. Keep in mind that different things work for different people, so it might take awhile to figure out what works for you. 

Gabby Haduch

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