Morning sickness remedies: 10 effective tips for relief

1. Eat smaller meals more often

Eating the same-sized meals you did before getting pregnant can sometimes make you feel uncomfortable and sick once you’re expecting.

Aim to eat a small meal every 1-2 hours to keep your energy and blood sugar up and prevent you from feeling nauseous due to having an empty stomach.

2. Try ginger

Ginger is widely known as a good pregnancy sickness remedy. Try ginger tea, real ginger ale, ginger biscuits or ginger sweets as they can help to reduce nausea.

3. Avoid strong smells

Try eating your meals cold as hot food releases aromas that could trigger sickness. Open windows at home to let fresh air in, though this is harder to control when you're out and about.

4. Suck on an ice cube

Sucking on an ice cube and drinking ice-cold water or a drink can be a helpful morning sickness cure. Ice lollies work just as well and can help mask that acidic or metallic taste in the mouth that some pregnant women get.

Sucking ice is also a great way to keep hydrated if you're regularly vomiting.

5. Eat plain food

As well as going for the little-and-often approach – the blander the food, the better. Think rice cakes, bananas, toast, pasta, potatoes and whole wheat bread, if you're able to stomach these.

6. Wear travel sickness bands

Anti-sickness bands, which use acupressure principles, have proven effective for many pregnant women. They look like sweatbands and are quite discreet and affordable.

7. Have a small snack at both ends of the day

A small snack before bedtime can help with nausea, and many nutrition experts say the same applies at the start of the day too: so aim to eat something as soon as you wake up.

Plain biscuits or crackers are perfect to keep by your bedside and nibble on before getting up or going to sleep.

8. Get plenty of rest

Feeling tired can be a trigger for morning sickness. Make sure to listen to your body and get the rest you need, especially if you have children already.

9. Avoid greasy or spicy food

Fatty and spicy foods trigger heartburn and nausea. Choose foods that help with nausea during pregnancy: try carbs, low-fat or high-protein foods, for example.

10. Pick mint

Mint in all forms is another way to curb those queasy feelings. Keep mints or chewing gum in your bag for when you’re out and about and try mint tea if you want a hot drink.

How long does morning sickness last?

For most pregnant women, you'll be pleased to learn that morning sickness only happens during the first trimester (the first 12 weeks of pregnancy) and then tends to ease up as they enter the second trimester.

However, for some people, the sickness can last up until week 16 to 20, or even remain throughout the entire pregnancy.¹

Risk factors and when to see a doctor

You may be more at risk of having morning sickness if:

• you’re expecting twins or other multiples
• you’ve had nausea and vomiting in a previous pregnancy
• you suffer from motion sickness when travelling
• you suffer from migraine headaches
• morning sickness runs in your family
• it’s your first pregnancy
• you’re obese (BMI is 30 or more)

If you’re dealing with morning sickness, the most important thing is to make sure you're hydrated and keeping water down. If you're unable to keep food or water down then you become at risk of dehydration, severe weight loss and malnutrition.

You can treat mild cases of sickness with the pregnancy nausea remedies we listed above, but there may be times when you need a lot more than ice cubes or a biscuit.

1 to 3 in every 100 pregnant women suffers from Hyperemesis Gravidarum², often referred to as "extreme morning sickness". This is a condition where a pregnant woman experiences relentless vomiting and nausea that sometimes means they need be admitted to hospital and receive medication or fluids. GP Dr Philippa Kaye advises you seek urgent medical help if:

• you haven't been able to keep any food or fluids down for 24 hours
• you haven't done a wee for more than 8 hours
• you feel very weak, dizzy or faint when you stand up
• you have abdominal pain
• you vomit blood
• you're losing weight

My personal experience

I’m expecting baby number 3 and am currently in my 2nd trimester where things are thankfully a lot more stable. I had morning sickness for the entire 1st trimester and into the start of my 2nd trimester too.

I instantly knew my sickness was not the mild kind as unfortunately, I have experienced Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) twice already during my previous pregnancies.

Absolutely nothing helped me. For 2 months I was surviving on 3 different anti-sickness tablets and bread alone. Nothing I tried helped at the start and I seemed to be triggered by anything and everything – smells, noise, movement and hunger. The best time was nighttime when I was asleep and had no consciousness of sickness or pain.

Because of the severity of my sickness, I lost a lot of weight and became dehydrated. I had to be admitted to hospital on several occasions to be given IV fluids and vitamins through my veins as I couldn't do so orally.

After about two months, and once the medication was kicking in, some of the pregnancy nausea remedies that further helped me were eating small and often, drinking ice-cold water, avoiding triggers, keeping my food plain, wearing travel sickness bands and getting plenty of rest.

It was a traumatising experience, but it helped me to know that there are remedies and medication out there to help manage and relieve morning sickness as much as possible.

Pic: Getty Images

References:

<sup>1. Vomiting and morning sickness, NHS Online
2. Severe vomiting in pregnancy, NHS Online</sup>

Read more:

• What does it mean if you don't get morning sickness?
• Is it safe to take Gaviscon for pregnancy heartburn?