Unfortunately many pregnant women will experience some form of morning sickness during the first trimester. It can be just feeling nauseous as you step out of bed, to feeling sick and sometimes being sick all day long. For myself it was the later and unfortunately lasted longer than the first term. However this is out of the ordinary and for most women it will have eased off by 12 weeks.
According to doctors, if you are healthy before pregnancy and then continue to be healthy during your pregnancy, then you reduce the chances of having morning sickness. Many say that the best approach is to really listen to your body. Though tuning to your body may seem hard, it is not. So long as you practice listening to what it wants then you’ll be able to understand how several changes in your body can affect your digestive system and the pathways that can contribute to nausea or morning sickness.
- Hormonal change
- Changes in blood sugar
- Stress and anxiety
- Heightened sensitivity to certain smells or taste triggers
Below are some ways on how you can battle morning sickness:
- As mentioned above, you need to eat what your body wants and that you always need to constantly nurture and keep yourself healthy.
- Make it a point to eat regularly. Avoid starving yourself for more than 3 hours. Remember to eat small snacks every hour.
- Related to the 2nd point, don’t overeat. You don’t want to feel nauseated or bloated.
- Eat simple and home-cooked food. Don’t go for rich and creamy foods as they can make you feel heavy right away without having the right nutrients for you and your baby. Greasy and heavy foods are also hard to digest and make you feel sick.
- Avoid consuming foods which you are allergic, sensitive, or intolerant too.
- Even if you are not feeling hungry, make it a point to eat something. A piece of fruit or toast would be good.
- Give yourself a relaxing bath. It will also help if you add some essential oils that can soothe your nerves.
- Avoid places that are moldy and damp. Stay away from strong smells such as diesel and petrol.
- Don’t focus on your nausea. Just keep calm and keep your mind busy with other thoughts.
- If you are already frequently vomiting, acupuncture and other homeopathic remedies can help you feel better and ease nausea.
Battling morning sickness is all about taking care and responding to what your body needs. Hopefully the remedies we mentioned can help ease your morning sickness so that you can enjoy your pregnancy. If however everything seems to fail speak to your doctor as they may be able to prescribe something for the sickness.