How to Help with Nausea During Pregnancy

Nausea, typically associated with pregnancy morning sickness, affects 50 to 90 percent of pregnant women, according to the Mayo Clinic. While women commonly experience nausea throughout the first trimester, for some women it persists throughout the pregnancy. As difficult as nausea can be for the pregnant mother, it typically poses little risk to her or her baby. By carefully watching their food intake and using some alternative remedies, many women can decrease the severity of their morning sickness.

Instructions

1. Eat frequent, small meals throughout the day. This will keep you from becoming overly full or extremely hungry; both conditions that can trigger nausea. MayoClinic.com notes that nausea might be aggravated by an empty stomach. Carry healthy snacks with you so that you will have food ready when hunger strikes.

2. Avoid strong smells and foods that trigger nausea, and eat foods that tempt you. According to the BabyCenter Medical Advisory board, when suffering from morning sickness you can usually safely skip foods that don't appeal to you at this point in your pregnancy, even if it means your diet ends up temporarily being somewhat imbalanced.

3. Introduce nutritional supplements into your diet. According to the Bastyr Center for Natural Health, 30 to 75 mg of oral vitamin B6 taken daily might decrease nausea and vomiting within one week of beginning use. The Bastyr Center also suggests that taking a daily multivitamin can also help reduce nausea associated with pregnancy.

4. Keep saltines or graham crackers beside your bed and snack on them before getting up. Bland, carbohydrate-rich foods such as these often help lessen nausea. If possible, nibble on the crackers and then lie back down for another 20 to 30 minutes to give your stomach a chance to digest the crackers.

5. Try some alternative therapies, such as ginger or acupressure. Herbal ginger capsules can help with nausea in some women, according to the Bastyr Center for Natural Health. You can also try sucking on ginger candies or grating fresh ginger and mixing it with water to make a tea. Cloth acupressure "sea bands," sold in many drugstores and designed to help with seasickness, might help with pregnancy nausea.

Tips & Warnings

• If most food smells turn your stomach, try eating foods cold or at room temperature, when they have less of an odor.

• Drink fluid between meals instead of with them. This can help keep you from feeling overly full.

• See your doctor if you experience extreme nausea and are unable to keep any types of foods down, because this might indicate a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum, which requires medical attention.

References

• BabyCenter: Morning Sickness
• Bastyr Center: Nutritional Supplements Reduce Morning Sickness
• Mayo Clinic: Morning Sickness