Managing Morning Sickness: Nausea and Vomiting Relief
Are you experiencing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and looking for relief? Learn what causes morning sickness, how to modify your diet and lifestyle to help manage morning sickness, and browse pregnancy-safe nausea relief products.
An Overview of Morning Sickness
Morning sickness, or nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP), is a common symptom experienced during pregnancy. Despite the name, morning sickness can affect someone at any time of the day. Morning sickness ranges from bouts of nausea throughout the day to vomiting one or more times a day. It’s estimated that up to 80% of pregnant people will experience some kind of morning sickness. Typically nausea and vomiting can be managed at home through changes to diet and lifestyle, but in more severe cases, medical intervention may be necessary.
What causes morning sickness?
Healthcare providers can’t say for sure what causes nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, but most theories suggest that hormones are to blame. Hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (the hormone that pregnancy tests measure in your urine), estrogen, and progesterone all rise during early pregnancy, around the same time that morning sickness begins. Genetics, age, history of motion sickness, or hormone-induced nausea are also considered risk factors for developing morning sickness.
When does morning sickness start and end?
The onset of morning sickness can vary from person to person, but it’s common for NVP to begin around week five to week six and end soon after the first trimester.
One study found that a large number of pregnant women experienced a peak in their morning sickness around nine weeks and symptoms resolved around 14 weeks.
Is it possible to prevent morning sickness?
As of now, there are no proven, pregnancy-safe methods for completely preventing morning sickness. The closest option is antiemetic drugs, which may help prevent vomiting and may be prescribed in certain cases. Fortunately, there are other ways to manage NVP and potentially reduce symptoms.
What to eat to reduce nausea and vomiting
Many people are familiar with the BRATT diet, which is often encouraged for anyone experiencing nausea, vomiting, and other digestive issues. BRATT stands for bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, and tea, and is a diet focused on low-fat, easily digestible foods. Adding in protein is also thought to help reduce morning sickness. Good sources of protein include animal meats, dairy foods, nuts and seeds, and protein powders or shakes.
Ginger for morning sickness
Ginger has long been used for its medicinal properties for helping to support or prevent inflammatory conditions, pain, arthritis, diabetes, and more. Ginger is also widely praised for its beneficial effects on nausea and vomiting. Multiple studies have concluded that ginger is effective and safe for reducing nausea caused by pregnancy, chemotherapy, and some gastrointestinal disorders. Ginger can be consumed in teas, juices, and smoothies, raw, pickled, or cooked into meals.
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Peppermint for morning sickness
Peppermint oil is another useful food for managing morning sickness. Research shows that smelling and consuming peppermint oil may be useful for reducing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and postoperative care. Peppermint oil also has researched anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects.
You can purchase peppermint oil on its own and use it in an oil diffuser, bathwater, or you may consume peppermint tea, candies, and other supplements.
Vitamin B6 for morning sickness
Vitamin B6 is a naturally present vitamin found in many different foods and supplements. Vitamin B6 plays an important role in the body and aids in brain development during pregnancy, cellular health, immune function, and more. Studies show that vitamin B6, commonly known as pyridoxine, is very effective for reducing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Vitamin B6 can be found in many prenatal vitamins, standalone vitamins, nausea relief products, and in foods such as fish, organ meats, potatoes, fruit, and cereal.
Read more about Vitamin B6 for Morning Sickness
Nausea relief products for morning sickness
Morning sickness can be difficult to manage, especially when you’re trying to get through work, chores, errands, and other daily tasks. Fortunately, there are products that can help you feel your best even when battling morning sickness.
Natalist offers Nausea Relief Tea, Anti-Nausea Gummies, Prenatal Daily Packets, and Prenatal Gummies, all formulated with ingredients shown to reduce the risk of severe morning sickness and manage nausea and vomiting. If you are struggling to keep foods or liquids down, make sure you’re staying hydrated and replenishing your electrolytes with Hydration & Energy Electrolyte Drink Mix.
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Lifestyle changes to combat morning sickness
Aside from nausea relief products and the BRATT diet, there are some other lifestyle changes you can make that may help manage NVP.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) recommends eating toast or crackers when you wake up to avoid moving around on an empty stomach, eating multiple smaller meals throughout the day, snacking frequently, and avoiding triggering smells.
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