Congratulations on your pregnancy! Maybe you are currently one of the 70-80% of women who experience morning sickness AKA all day sickness!! Symptoms of morning sickness can range from nausea, retching, vomiting to having aversions to certain foods. It can be very challenging, but it typically resolves around 18 weeks.
In some cases, severe morning sickness called hyperemesis gravidarium can lead to dehydration and malnutrition. If you are struggling to keep food and fluid down, it's important to seek support from your healthcare professional.
Here are some general tips which may help you manage your morning sickness symptoms.
Little and often.
Eat small frequent meals: Avoid having that empty stomach by having 5-6 small meals throughout the day. You may find that even having a small bed time snack eases your symptoms.
Plain Jane
Beige foods like white toast can be more appealing during this time. White toast will still provide a little fibre, calcium and iron. You could try adding some toppings for the toast such as nut butters, or cream cheese to increase you nutrient intake on the days you feel better.
Ginger
Ginger is probably the most commonly spoken about food to help morning sickness and there is actually some scientific evidence to back this up in reducing symptoms of nausea! Think ginger biscuits, ginger tea, ginger ale... you get the idea.
Vitamin B6
B6 supplementation has also been shown to reduce nausea symptoms. You can also find B6 in turkey, bananas and pumpkin seeds.
Fizzy drinks
Anecdotally fizzy drinks can help to settle your stomach.
Cold drinks
Smoothies, milkshakes and juices tends to be better tolerated by mums to be. Part of this is because cold foods have less of an odour which could trigger sickness symptoms. Smoothies can be a great way to get in extra nourishment by including fruits for fibre and nuts for protein. You could also experiment by adding in some vegetables like spinach and beans!
Avoid high fat foods
Your normal take aways such as indian or chinese may be off the menu for a while as the fat from the greasy food can take longer to digest so sits heavier on the stomach exacerbating your symptoms.
Hydrate
Keep hydrated sipping on water and by choosing high water content foods such as watermelon, cucumber, and strawberries.
Rest and self care
Lying down and resting is one of the best things you can do. Tiredness will probably only make your sickness worst so try and get an early night or nap where you can.
Remember that the sickness won't last forever and your focus right now may be on managing your symptoms and taking care of yourself. Eating a nutritious diet can come later when you are feeling better. I've been there and I've seen it in my clinics where I support pregnant women for hyperemesis.
If you need personalised advice please reach out where we can support you whatever stage of pregnancy you are at.
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