10 Tips To Manage Morning Sickness During Pregnancy.

Amidst all the attention, pampering and excitement that a woman enjoys with being pregnant come the much dreaded morning sickness. I had a tough time dealing with it too initially. However, I learnt soon enough to change my lifestyle and food choices a bit which helped me manage to get through the phase if I might say quite reasonably if not comfortably.

Here I shall list the few measures that I took to deal with morning sickness:

Try to avoid foods and smells that trigger nausea:

A first-time pregnant woman is generally unaware of what triggers the morning sickness. That’s why they tend to follow advises given by others.

During my pregnancy, I was advised to have more of iron-rich food as haemoglobin level in my blood was low. Though I had started taking the necessary medication of folic acid and multivitamin prescribed by the doctor, I was advised to drink vegetable soups. The mistake that I did was I drank the soup in the morning on an empty stomach and that triggered acidity. Alternatively, I was also advised to drink coconut water as it was very good for the baby and for me. When I had the coconut water in the morning, it gave me a lot of gastric imbalance and thus I kept puking in the morning. After a few days of torture, I realised that this was not suiting my digestive system and I stopped drinking and eating stuff which triggered nausea.

Thus my first tip would be to stick to foods that appeal to you and not that which are presumed to be healthy food. The change that I made in my eating habit was to eat some nuts in the morning to control the acidity early morning. I started with a glass of milk and nuts in the morning immediately after waking up.

Do not stay on an empty stomach for a long time:

Have a healthy breakfast and eat something immediately after waking up.

Eat food cold or at room temperature:

Try and avoid very hot food as the smell from hot food triggers nausea. I used to experience nausea if I had a hot bowl of dal during lunch. Someone advised me to have it a bit cold and that solved my nausea issue. Since I am a vegetarian, consuming legumes was necessary for me for daily protein requirement but that always triggered nausea, however, this small change helped me control it.

Eat small meals:

Do not overeat. Eat small meals every two hours. I used to snack on a fruit between meals.

Avoid fatty and greasy food:

I avoided deep-fried and greasy food completely from my diet during pregnancy as it takes longer to digest.

Stay hydrated:

Consume lots of water and liquids. Dehydration leads to feeling nauseated. I used to fill up a jug of 8 glasses of water early in the morning and consume it during the day to keep myself hydrated. Also sipping on water at regular intervals during the aids digestion which in turn helps keep nausea at bay.

Stay busy in the mornings:

It is very important to keep yourself occupied in the mornings in order to ignore the symptoms of morning sickness. You could try meditation or yoga. I used to sit with my grandfather in law in the mornings and he used to tell me stories from the Gita and Ramayana. This was a great way to relax for me.

Try Ginger:

I drank ginger tea in the evenings which helped me control the feeling of nausea. You could alternatively try homemade ginger ale also to settle the stomach.

Take rest:

Listen to soothing music while taking a nap during afternoons. Avoid late nights and maintain a bedtime schedule.

Meet up with your friends and relax:

Partying once in a while is fine, you need to unwind too with friends. I would meet my friends almost every alternate day to avoid pregnancy stress to get on to me and relax.

 

The morning sickness really got to me but I did manage to get through the phase by putting the above-mentioned tips to use. I hope it helps all the expecting mothers who read the post. Also, other moms share your experiences, add tips I missed out on, something which helped you manage morning sickness by commenting on the post.

Also exercising during pregnancy is beneficial. Read Walking during pregnancy and its benefits.

Happy Parenting!

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