Tips for dealing with Morning Sickness

**Collaborative post**

Every time I have been pregnant, I have known before I even saw those magic 2 lines on a pregnancy test (I’ve been pregnant 7 times and each time knew before I took a test).

How did I know? – Nausea

I wasn’t sick instantly but there were triggers which would set me off, the smell of tea turned my stomach, which of course was strange as back then I was a tea drinker and hated coffee. I couldn’t be in the same room as someone smoking without a huge wave of nausea hitting me – strange as it’s not like I wasn’t used to the smell, my Mum and Paul are smokers, my favourite meal of Chinese would no longer be appealing.

These were the signs which sent me into the bathroom with a pregnancy test in hand, and each time I was correct.

It was a few weeks into pregnancies when the actual morning sickness actually started and nausea turned into actual vomiting, daily, hourly and with Harry even more frequently until I was placed on tablets and very almost a drip in hospital a few times due to HG (Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which of course is far more than just normal morning sickness).

I am certainly NOT alone, according to a recent survey commissioned by Sea-Band* almost 80% of women suffer at some point during their pregnancy.

Although this is commonly known as morning sickness, only 30 percent of women surveyed experienced sickness in the morning, with afternoons or continuous symptoms being all too common (30 percent for both). Furthermore, 1 in 4 women (24 percent) experience morning sickness for over ten weeks. I was sick a few times daily with Emmy up until 16 weeks and with Harry numerous times daily until over 30 weeks.

Of those surveyed, 1 in 10 women were often unable to eat any hot food due to their sickness and 30 percent avoided favourites like bacon and spicy dishes. In addition, 1 in 3 women have been late for work or not gone in at all because of morning sickness. I also couldn’t stomach the smell of bacon along with my favourite morning cup of tea.

There are lots of old wives tales and remedies available to help ease the symptoms of morning sickness – some will work for some but sadly won’t work for others and a little trial and error comes into play. Here are a few things which I found to help:

• Nibbling on a dry biscuit before getting out of bed. Rich Tea, Ginger Biscuit or even a Cracker
• Ginger or Lemon – a traditional remedy. Try grating or thinly sliced ginger into a hot drink or hot water, nibbling on raw ginger or even Ginger Ale. I found this was good when I was pregnant with Emmy but not with Harry, instead, I preferred hot Lemon water or flat lemonade.
• Go with your cravings – it is your body’s way of telling you what it needs and as long as it’s not a non-food item such as soap/detergent or one of the many stranger cravings a little of what you fancy will do you no harm
• Keeping fluids up – this doesn’t have to be water but could be watermelon slices or even ice-cubes if these are easier to stomach
• Keep cool – use layers so you can remove them if you overheat, being hot often makes you feel sick
• Know what your triggers are – learn what makes your symptoms worse and try to stay away from those if you can
• Sea-Bands (affiliate link) – these are acupressure knitted wrist bands that are clinically proven to relieve motion sickness and morning sickness in addition to helping with post-operative and chemotherapy-induced nausea.

*Sea-Band surveyed 2000 men and women

You may also like:

• My experience of recurrent miscarriage
• How to Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy
• Your First Period After Pregnancy: What To Expect
• Trimester Timetable – Why Using A Pregnancy Calculator Is Important

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