Originally posted March 6, 2017.
Some women get morning sickness during pregnancy and others don’t. About 80% of all women have morning sickness. In fact, it can one of the first signs that you are pregnant! For some, it’s just a mild nausea, but for others, unfortunately, it can be so bad that you can’t eat or drink any water! The nausea may not only occur in the morning, too. Sometimes it can happen around the clock! Morning sickness may be one of your first signs that you’re pregnant, so nausea can be a joyous sign! Hopefully, the morning sickness will only occur in the first trimester or your pregnancy and begin to end by the start of the second semester. However, this isn’t alway the case. Some women will continue with some nausea until the baby is born!
No one is for certain what causes morning sickness, and one of the popular ideas is that it is caused by a surge of hormones as the placenta is developing, so it’s a change in your body as your body starts to accommodate your pregnancy. Sometimes the prenatal vitamin pill irritates some women’s stomach, so try taking it with food and later in the day. Always find out first with your doctor before taking anything new or taking yourself off medication, even prenatal pills.
There are a few ways to minimize the sickness, but they don’t work for everyone. Eating smaller meals more frequently seems to help some women. Keep some saltine crackers and dry cereal on hand to help with the nausea. Drinking ginger ale seems to help other people. Eating lean protein and avoiding fats can help. Get enough rest and don’t push yourself too far as your body is working overtime to create the placenta and the baby! It may difficult to drink water, as it may hard to keep down! Hydration is important during pregnancy; if you become dehydrated from lack of fluids you may find your healthcare provider sending you to the hospital for IV fluids! You can suck on ice chips or ice pops to stay hydrated and maybe help quell the nausea!
Acupuncture has helped many women. I had terrible morning sickness myself, I was so dizzy and nauseated that I felt like I was on the Titanic! I couldn’t drink water, I was losing weight! My doctor was thinking of putting me in the hospital! My husband took one look at me one day after work as I was lying on the couch and said, call the acupuncturist, that’s what we’re trying first! I called Dr. Kadar at the Acupuncture Center of New Jersey to explain my situation. He said come on in, he does this all the time! I was scared of the needles, but there really was no pain. And yes, with the first treatment, my nausea was much better. I was actually able to eat a meal after that first treatment. After just one more treatment, I was pretty set.
After that, I used some specialty products to soothe my minor tummy rumblings such as ginger pops, ginger drops, ginger chews … all pleasant tasting, and some more spicy than others, and they made my breath fresh too!
I also used herbal teas with herbals safe for pregnancy. One I still love is Earth Mama Baby Angel Heartburn Tea, which is lovely and soothing, having natural marshmallow root, ginger and raspberry leaf in it, both good for digestion and safe for pregnancy. Get Maternal is another great pregnancy tea, with roobiboos and ginger components. And Traditional Medicinals has nice tea mixes prepared by master herbalists, they have a Pregnancy Tea that helps with morning sickness and uterine toning, having raspberry leaf and ginger components.
You should always consider your own preferences and you own sensitivities when purchasing and using herbals, as even if something is natural you can be sensitive or allergic to it. And of course, remember, you should contact your healthcare provider if you are feeling weak or faint or if you are losing weight. And if you vomit often in one day, contact your healthcare provider.