With these self-care tips for morning sickness, you have home remedies that help you put that incessant nausea under control.
Morning sickness isn’t something you have to endure because it is a normal thing during pregnancy. You should be able to have a semblance of normalcy – even though that can be wishful thinking, considering you have a human growing in you – and that is what you will get.
There are natural materials that le around in your home that could help you alleviate the difficulty in keeping food in your stomach. Some of these self-care tips for morning sickness require that you take a trip to the nearest drug store or pharmacy.
What is Morning Sickness?
Morning sickness is one of the common symptoms of pregnancy and it is characterized by the feeling of irritation prompting you to vomit. Sometimes you just feel like you need to vomit and you don’t, while other times you vomit.
Although it is called morning sickness, it happens at any time of the day. It is common in the first trimester, that is first three months of pregnancy, and in some people, it can last into the second trimester. However, the severity of nausea reduces after the first trimester.
Morning sickness does not begin as soon as conception begins, it sets in around the fifth or sixth week of pregnancy.
What Causes Morning Sickness?
Morning sickness is not tied to one known cause, it may be triggered as a result of many reasons during pregnancy, some of which are:
- Increased Hormone Levels
- Reduced Blood Sugar
- Sensitive Digestive System
- Stronger Sense of Smell
Whichever of the causes it might be, there are proven home remedies and self-care tips that have worked for some women and are endorsed by obstetricians.
Home Remedies and Self-care tips for Morning Sickness
Befriend Ginger
Ginger has been proven over time to be effective against nausea and vomiting. There has been records of ginger helping to put vomiting in check to avoid motion sickness. It has also been recorded that it helps some pregnant women curb morning sickness, which makes it an effective home remedy and self-care tip for morning sickness.
However, experts warn that the consumption of ginger should be controlled as too much of it might increase the risk of miscarriage.
Drink ginger tea, ginger ale, you can also eat small amounts of ginger bread and other ginger products.
Avoid certain foods
There are foods that make the stomach unsettled, some of them include foods that produce gas like beans and eggs, others are foods abundant in fats and grease as in fried foods; very sweet foods and spicy foods.
Eat more of protein-rich foods, carbohydrate-dense foods, salty foods like crackers, dry foods such as nuts and cereals. They have been known to cause less disturbance in the stomach and curb nausea.
Also, you might want to avoid drinking water or beverage while eating. Give yourself about 20 minutes after eating before taking a drink in small sips.
Focus on Feeding Frequency
During pregnancy, relegate the size of your meals for small servings and more frequent feeding. One of the side effects of nausea is the repulsion of food to you. Therefore, you are not willing to eat anything. However, avoiding food is bad for nausea.
To curb nausea, as one of the self-care tips for morning sickness, avoid large meals. That is, forget about eating three meals in a day as you used to do. Eat more times in a day and in smaller quantities.
Aromatherapy helps
Try infusing balls of cotton wool with scented oils to keep away the feeling that vomit is coming on. Try different aromas – lemon, mint, orange – and choose the most effective ones for you. Once you have picked the best one for you, you can also spray that aroma in your room.
It is one of the effective self-care tips for morning sickness.
Exercise
Some pregnant women have said they feel better after engaging in some form of exercise. That is why it is included in this list of home remedy and self-care tips for morning sickness.
Exercises can range from short and long walks to yoga and swimming. It is beneficial to pregnant women to involve themselves in exercises. However, consult your physician before you begin a new exercise routine so as to be sure of its safety for you and your baby.
Avoid Strong Smell
Despite the effectiveness of aromatherapy as one of the self-care tips for morning sickness, the heightened sense of smell in pregnant women could be the reason for nausea. Therefore, stay away from smells that trigger nausea.
Note smells that peculiarly trigger you, some of such smells as recorded by some pregnant women include perfumes, raw fish, eggs, cigarette smoke, and many more.
If you are cooking, leave your windows open to help carry away odours that might be triggers.
Antihistamines may help
Antihistamines are known to be contained in prescriptions for motion sickness. They also help in curbing nausea. Medications such as Benadryl and Unisom are effective antihistamines that are safe for use during pregnancy.
Unisom helps you to sleep and control nausea. It is advisable that you avoid this medication when you will be driving as it can cause drowsiness.
Also, ensure that your physician is informed if you intend to go with this option out of the many self-care tips for morning sickness.
Use Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 supplements help to bring nausea under control. Although it is not understood, yet, how it does so, it is an effective option of options in self-care tips for morning sickness.
It is also known that Unisom, an antihistamine works better when taken with vitamin B6 supplement.
Acupuncture
Applying pressure on the wrist has been said to help in fighting morning sickness. Some say it is ineffective. However, it is worth a try.
With your fingers, apply pressure at the top and bottom of your wrist and see if it helps. It is advisable that you have other options from this list of self-care tips for morning sickness at hand when trying this.
Complications associated with Morning Sickness
Morning sickness takes different intensity wit different women and different pregnancies. While your first pregnancy might give you a mild morning sickness that lasted into the ninth or tenth week, your subsequent pregnancies may not be that mild or lengthy.
However, it is essential to go see a doctor when your morning sickness leads to the following:
- Weight loss
- Dizziness
- Infrequent, dark-coloured urination in small quantities
- Inability to hold food for more than 12 hours in your stomach
- Blood-stained vomit
- Bleeding or spotting
- Abdominal pain
In most of these cases, you will be placed on intravenous fluids to deal with other issues that arise with your severe morning sickness.
Conclusion
Morning sickness is a normal occurrence in pregnancy. Although its severity differs from person to person and pregnancy to pregnancy, it can be treated at home with the home remedy and self-care tips provided in this article.
It is advisable that you inform your doctor before you take any medication included in this list. Also, avoid being sedentary during pregnancy; involve yourself in simple physical activities – except you’re advised otherwise by your doctor – and rest adequately.
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