What to expect #2 – Nausea with or without vomiting

Morning sickness, which can strike at any time of the day or night, often begins one month after you become pregnant. This might be due to rising hormone levels. To help avoid nausea, avoid having an empty stomach, and drink plenty of fluids.Unfortunately, there’s no hard and fast treatment that will work for every woman’s morning sickness. Every pregnancy will be different. But there are some changes you can make to your diet and daily life to try to ease the symptoms.If these don’t work for you or you’re having more severe symptoms, your doctor or midwife might recommend medication.If your morning sickness isn’t too bad, your GP or midwife will initially recommend you try some lifestyle changes:

• get plenty of rest (tiredness can make nausea worse)
• avoid foods or smells that make you feel sick
• eat something like dry toast or a plain biscuit before you get out of bed
• eat small, frequent meals of plain foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in fat (such as bread, rice, crackers and pasta)
• eat cold foods rather than hot ones if the smell of hot meals makes you feel sick
• drink plenty of fluids, such as water (sipping them little and often may help prevent vomiting)
• eat foods or drinks containing ginger – there’s some evidence ginger may help reduce nausea and vomiting (check with your pharmacist before taking ginger supplements during pregnancy)
• try acupressure – there’s some evidence that putting pressure on your wrist, using a special band or bracelet on your forearm, may help relieve the symptoms