Morning Sickness Dos and Don'ts

Congratulations, you’re having a baby soon. One of the greatest indicators your bundle of joy is on the way is morning sickness. Oftentimes, hormonal changes during pregnancy cause nausea and vomiting.

Despite its name, morning sickness can occur at any time of day. Whether you’re still going to work or running errands during the day, morning sickness can put a damper on your plans. Since 50 percent of pregnant women experience morning sickness until their hormones regulate, it’s important to know how to help yourself feel at ease. Here’s a list of dos and don’ts to help you with pregnancy-related nausea.

Morning Sickness Must-Dos

1. Consume Smaller Meals

By eating smaller meals throughout the day, you put less pressure on your stomach. This minimizes your chances of getting sick, especially since small meals are digested in a shorter time.

2. Keep Lemons Near

Oftentimes, strong smells trigger pregnancy-related nausea. One of the easiest ways to relieve your morning sickness is with lemons. You can either smell them or add them to water. For convenience, you can even carry lemon essential oil and smell it when you feel sick. If you experience constipation, you can also use lemons to relieve those symptoms.

3. Eat Crackers

Eating crackers during pregnancy is great because the sodium bicarbonate helps settle your stomach. When you wake up, eat a few crackers 15 minutes before getting out of bed for nausea relief.

4. Stay Hydrated

Many pregnant mothers suffer from dehydration, which causes queasiness. To avoid this, make sure to drink fluids throughout the day. Infusing water with lemons or ginger is a great way to stay hydrated and control nausea symptoms throughout the day.

5. Get Plenty of Rest

When you’re fatigued, you’re more likely to experience nausea. Therefore, don’t be afraid to take naps throughout the day.

6. Open a Window

Since you’re more sensitive to certain scents, opening a window helps minimize the intensity of the scents that trigger nausea.

7. Exercise

Light exercise like walking works wonders for both fatigue and nausea symptoms. When you’re feeling a bit sick, take a 20-minute walk to feel better.

Morning Sickness Don’ts

1. Don’t LieDown After Eating

Be sure to wait at least 30 minutes after a meal to lie down. Lying down immediately after a meal interferes with digestion, causing nausea and even vomiting.

2. Don’t Consume Spicy Foods

Spicy foods increase your chances of experiencing morning sickness, especially if you have nausea throughout the day. Until your symptoms subside, it’s best to avoid spicy foods altogether.

3. Don’t Skip Meals

While you want to eat smaller meals to avoid morning sickness, skipping meals actually raises the probability of nausea. It also makes you feel sick after taking your prenatal vitamins. Even if you eat a piece of toast, keep something in your stomach.

4. Don’t Overindulge in Fried or Fatty Foods

When you regularly eat fried food with high-fat content, it takes a longer time to digest. In fact, greasier foods irritate your digestive system, causing you to feel nauseous. While they’re okay in moderation, avoid eating fried and fatty foods on a regular basis.

5. Don’t Wear Tight Clothing

Tight clothing makes nausea and vomiting more severe. Therefore, it’s important to wear loose-fitting clothing, especially during the peak of your discomfort.

6. Don’t Work Through It

If you’re working and begin to feel nauseous, take a break or leave. Health experts recommend taking a short leave during the peak of your nausea symptoms because putting too much stress on a body working overtime to make a healthy baby encourages sickness.

7. Don’t Be Afraid to Speak Up

As soon as you begin to experience severe symptoms, seek professional help immediately. Otherwise, you raise the likelihood of complications for you and your baby.

While feeling nauseous is normal during pregnancy, following these tips will help you overcome or curb pregnancy-related morning sickness.