Alternative Remedies for Morning Sickness

Morning sickness is the common condition of nausea, body aches, and possibly vomiting that affects around 70% of all pregnant women. The most common symptom is just plain nausea, and even if no vomiting is involved it can still be downright debilitating. Medicine may be prescribed when it comes to severe morning sickness, however most of the time there are many drug-free ways you can alleviate the symptoms.

One of the most important things to remember is to make sure you're drinking plenty of water - eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day is the recommended amount. Not getting enough can make you feel even more sick and achy, but even worse, if you're already throwing up a lot due to morning sickness, you can get severely dehydrated - something that's even more dangerous during pregnancy.

As far as drinking any liquids go - including water - it can help with nausea if they are consumed between meals instead of with meals. Liquid sloshing around in the stomach mixed with food can actually worsen the sick feeling.

One of the key things that worked for me was eating smaller meals more often - basically snacks throughout the day - instead of three large, main meals. Small and frequent digestion is much easier on the stomach, and it is also greater for energy and blood sugar levels, as a low blood sugar can make nausea worse. It also helped a lot to eat a small snack of whole-wheat crackers before even getting out of bed. Rising on an empty stomach also seemed to make the sick feeling come on much stronger.

As far as diet goes, it's recommended to eat a lot of foods high in carbohydrates and protein. These are important nutrients during pregnancy anyway, and will help you digest your food more easily.

Foods to avoid include anything that you think will make you feel sick, or anything greasy, fried or spicy. Such foods can be heavy on the stomach and cause indigestion along with a lot more nausea. Caffeine, which you shouldn't have a lot of during pregnancy, may also cause problems associated with morning sickness.

If worse comes to worse, you may even want to try eating a diet that consists of a lot of liquids instead of a lot of solid foods. Foods like Jello, Popsicles and chicken broth or other soups can really help when the nausea is really bad.

Many doctors recommend taking a B6 vitamin supplement - about 25 mg a few times daily - to prevent and relieve nausea and vomiting. If you are already taking a multivitamin with pyridoxine in it, though, you can count that as one dose. Any vitamins you're on, including prenatal vitamins, should be taken with food.
The ginger herb has been used to treat nausea in general, so it has also shown to be very effective when it comes to soothing morning sickness. Adding ginger to your food can help, or you can take a supplement - but speak to your doctor beforehand. I preferred to drink ginger tea in the evenings.

Something else you should try to do is avoid certain odors and fumes - paint, glue, cigarette smoke - as they can make you sick, and it is also dangerous to be around these things.

All of the above are great ways to try and combat morning sickness. Some things work better than others depending on the person, though, as everyone is different. If excessive vomiting occurs at any time during your pregnancy, you should see your doctor right away as this can lead to dehydration and malnutrition.