What are your best remedies for morning sickness?

[Cynthia Mosher]

 With so many parents coming to Mothering either planning a pregnancy or already expecting, we get lots of questions about dealing with morning sickness. So, we thought it would be great to put together a community input resource article on the topic. To do that, we need your feedback!   We're also reaching out to our Facebook fans and Twitter followers with a link to this thread to invite them to share their input too. Hopefully we can gather everyone's wisdom together in this thread for our community of moms to benefit from.

Have you suffered from morning sickness and found certain things worked well for you? Please share your best remedies, ideas, and tips and tricks. We'll gather everything together in an article and feature it on Mothering.com with credit to our community members, of course! 

[pokeyAC]

I sucked on Ricola lemon mints throat drops because citrus and mint can help.  I also had mint lifesavers on hand.

I ate snacks/small meals frequently.

I took B6 in the morning and in the afternoon.

I took Unisom at night.

I ate citrus fruits.

I tried to eat more protein.

I have heard that the smell of newspapers helps some women.

[nstewart]

- I felt better if I got more sleep

- I tried to eat small, frequent meals

- Almonds eased the nausea for me

- Staying well hydrated seemed to help

- The thing that worked the best to ease nausea for me was doing cardio!  I always felt much better after 30 mins on the eliptical trainer

[nettlesoup]

I found that drinking kefir makes a huge difference on how I feel. If I forget to drink it for a day or two I know about it! And of course eating frequently helps. I want to try vitamin B6 as I've heard a lot of good things about it.
 

[Cynthia Mosher]

I used to eat saltine crackers before getting out of bed in the morning and that usually helped, though I'm not sure why. Was it the dry cracker or the salt? No idea.

[veggieviola]

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher 

I used to eat saltine crackers before getting out of bed in the morning and that usually helped, though I'm not sure why. Was it the dry cracker or the salt? No idea.

It was probably starting the day with some food in your stomach!  During my first trimester, I generally felt worse and worse throughout the day.   I found that if I started with a decent breakfast and continued to eat small meals and snacks it wasn't as bad.  When I let myself get to the point of having an empty stomach is when I felt the most nauseated and had the least appetite.

[serena76]

I've found using sea bands really helps, also B6, if I forget to take it I start vomiting. Also eating regularly and taking naps.

[Cathlin]

As a Hyperemesis Gravidarum survivor, the biggest advice I would give is that you can't keep down fluids go to an emergency room/birth center immediately! Baby and I were at unnecessary risk because I thought I was a wimp that couldn't deal with morning sickness, and it delayed our diagnosis. :)

So, Hyperemesis Gravidarum coping tips: dark, cool room with white noise. Lots of rest. No cooking in the house. No scented soaps, shampoos. A shower head with a hose thingy (why can't I think of what those are called?!?) so you can wash your hair sitting down. Zofran, phenergan, B6, unisom, IV fluids. Electrolytes. Boost/Ensure. Liquids are easier to keep down than solids, and less painful coming back up - but plain water is very difficult for most HGers, so try carbonated water. Be patient with yourself. Get help.

[ashleyb87]

I also had hyperemesis and the only thing that helped was Zofran-it forced me to not puke.  If I didn't take enough I couldn't stop until I had IV fluids.  If in doubt it's always better to go in and check to see if you're dehydrated.  I also put myself at risk with my first son-I couldn't keep anything down for 48 hours and by then looking at my total lack of urine my doctor said she hadn't seen another pregnant woman so dehydrated before .  GO WITH YOUR CRAVINGS!  For the longest time I could only eat chicken ramen noodles-not healthy at all but that's all I could hold down and she assured me that something was better than nothing.  I made up for the unhealthy diet later on.  With my second son I started on Zofran from the beginning but still ended up with 1 IV.  I ate a lot of potatoes in my pregnancy with him and also always kept sour skittles and sour patch kids around-if I was nauseous something about that sour flavor helped me be able to eat a decent meal.  I also liked popsicles a lot-they helped me get fluid down when plain water wasn't enough.  A lot of people like ginger but I still can't stomach ginger now because I tried ginger lozenges when I was super sick thinking it was normal morning sickness.  My midwife gave me a list of herbs I'll try next time I get pregnant but thinking back of how freaking awful it was I still think I'll go with Zofran first and the herbs for the nausea to prevent having IVs and insanely expensive ER/instacare bills.

ETA-I also tried the morning sickness bands (Psi Bands I think they're called) and they helped quite a bit with the nausea but nothing but my Zofran would stop my puking but I still had terrible nausea with the Zofran).
Edited by ashleyb87 - 2/11/13 at 10:16am

[Jo Rainbow]

I had extreme nausea with my first pregnancy back in 2003. I was throwing up 2-3 times a day from week 6 to around week 20. I lost 10 pounds in the first trimester-- but gained it back plus an additional 25 pounds by the end of the pregnancy). The morning sickness was around the clock and never let up. The best relief I found were Cherry Blow pops and Big Red cinnamon gum! (I know, artifical color/flavor chemicals in these products, but I was desperate and the official preggie pops didn't have the same effect). And I was afraid to take the Zofran that my OB recommended. Back in '03, I didn't feel it had been tested sufficiently for side effects. I do not know how I managed to go to work! My daughter is now 9 1/2 years old and strong, healthy, and happy. The artificial crap in the gum and lollipops didn't seem to have any impact that I can see.

During my second pregnancy in 2004, the same extreme morning sickness was back--- but this time I had a little toddler I was chasing around. I decided to do something beyond lollipops and gum. I smoked pot. I took one single puff each day from around week 8 through week 18. I didn't get "high", (well maybe a happy small amount which enhanced the baby books I was reading to my daughter and our stroller walks), but the nausea relief was extreme! Night and day. I can not say the nausea went away entirely; but it went from utterly intolerable to utterly tolerable.

I have never posted anything about this on an online forum, but it seems Mothering would be the place to share this wisdom. My second child, my son, will be 8 years old this month. He is healthy, bright, kind, creative, athletic, and funny. I have no idea if he would have been different had I not smoked. Who knows? I am so interested in hearing about other moms' experiences who chose to smoke for morning sickness. I also hope my sharing will help other moms who are absolutely miserable in their morning sickness. Please let me know what you think!
 

[show]

Ginger in any form: tea, crystalized ginger, ginger snaps, etc.

Sucking on lemon slices

Sea bandz

Eating often

Avoiding all smells/triggers: I moved the fax machine out of my office so people did not come in wearing perfume and drinking coffee. The home coffee maker went outside on the porch or was forbidden. My husband did all the cooking, cleaning, shopping, dishes, etc. I could not do it. No restaurants, grocery stores (too many smells). My husband slept in another room (he really doesn't smell bad normally, but I couldn't deal with his morning breath). Husband had to put breakfast on the table for me (the cabinets smelled when I opened them), he made my lunch for me to take to work... he was a lifesaver. Anything you have to do, do. We ended up actually having to break our lease and move since the upstairs neighbors were too loud (and smoked), and the apartment smelled bad (probably cat urine or something). Until then I tried sleeping in the back of the station wagon... .nothing worked. It was really awful: full time unbearable nausea. 

I couldn't take prenatal vitamins; caused even worse nausea. Tried B6 but didn't help.

Note that nausea can also be a symptom of diabetes, which I ended up being diagnosed with at 7 months pregnant. But the nausea didn't really go away entirely until the baby was born. 

Didn't worry about my diet; I only ate what I could keep down. Which wasn't much. I couldn't really eat vegetables for example (for the first few months).

Wish there was online support back then!

It's the hardest thing I've ever dealt with (and I still have diabetes).

5 years later actually got pregnant again, but wasn't sure I could survive another pregnancy (due to the nausea). I waited until I didn't have to change a diaper etc since I knew I wouldn't be able to do that if with nausea. But the 2nd pregnancy was fine, only minor nausea that was bearable.

[show]

Wish I had tried it!

[nettlesoup]

I really don't know how those of you with real morning sickness cope! I have it easy; I feel nauseous all the time, but never enough to be sick and that's bad enough! You guys are hardcore!
 

[frogeagle]

Just like others on this thread I had severe nausea ( cannot spell medical term) throughout my entire pregnancies.  My second pregnancy was worse and had to fight with medical assistance welfare program to get zofran, first pregnancy was with a midwife.  I lost 15 pounds in my second month and ended up in ER.  Not only was keeping food down and having an appetite at all bad, the constant salivation was the worse.  Nothing helped just tryed to survive each month as it came.  The first trimester was the worse with the salivation.  I used to constantly spit in a cup I carried or just let it drain from my mouth into a bucket at the end of my bed.  I felt like I was going to drown.  I have to say the constant unsupportive attitude was hard to take from everyone from family to medical.  I really missed a mid wife experience through the second pregnancy.  

[Cynthia Mosher]

Have you guys read Mothering's article Medical Marijuana: A Surprising Solution to Sever Morning Sickness? Very interesting story and it has been one of our most read articles on the site. 

[Cathlin]

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher 

Have you guys read Mothering's article Medical Marijuana: A Surprising Solution to Sever Morning Sickness? Very interesting story and it has been one of our most read articles on the site. 

Yeah, I read that one. Some things stood out, 

Quote:

He admitted that, due to constraints imposed on him by his malpractice-insurance company, some routine procedures that he knew to be harmful would be required of me.

It's intentionally vague, but I am guessing she means the GD test. My doctor allowed me to skip that, as well as another woman I know with HG. It is "harmful" because it is impossible for an HGer to keep that fluid down, and it sets off an additional round of nausea. Same goes for the crazy amount of water for the 20 week ultrasound (new HG mommas, don't worry about that!). Upside: if you take the test at least you're already at the hospital for the IV fluids you'll require afterward? ;) 

Quote:

This doctor assured me he had all the answers, and that, under his expert care, my baby and I would never experience a moment of discomfort.

Wow. Hyperbole red flags. No matter what methods you emply - zofran, phenergan, home nurse, PICC line, IVs...if you have HG your pregnancy is going to be some measure of uncomfortable. HG aside there's no cure for a smushed bladder! ;) 

HG has a spectrum, on one end are the cases that resolve around 20-22 weeks. On the other end are women that experience organ failure and ultimately lose their child. Most of us are somewhere in between, and while there are ramifications for us - typically 10% of bodyweight lost, dental problems, nutritional deficiencies, PTSD, and so on - there is no affect on the child. I lost 10%+ bodyweight - and gave birth to a healthy 9lb baby! Our bodies are made to sacrifice ourselves for the child, as much as possible. 

All this to say that yes, we talked about marijuana as an option, and decided that it was too risky since we didn't know the effects on the child. We decided that the effects of my HG were within the "manageable" zone - yes I was throwing up and losing weight, but I only needed periodic IV fluids and did not need a PICC line. The baby was growing and ostensibly we would be ok. :) Next time, new decisions. We learned a lot. 

Edited by Cathlin - 2/10/13 at 11:40am

[Sphinxy]

I was waking up with a sour stomach around 3am each night for the past five nights. On night one I didn't treat it at all and though never accompanied by a gagging sensation, I definitely felt sick to my stomach, like I was getting an ulcer or something. It persisted throughout the early morning and for a couple hours once I woke up. On night two I tried eating a granola bar when I woke up at 3, and it did help me get back to sleep a little with some reduction in symptoms, it wasn't as much of an improvement as I was looking for. I tried bananas, saltine crackers, and sandwich crackers with peanut butter in the middle, but each produced the same weak level of results. Last night (night 5) I tried a protein bar with 15 grams of whey and it helped a lot - I got back to sleep quickly and slept through until 7:20am without any stomach aches or pains. It did result in some gassiness this morning but not painfully so. I have concluded that I am getting excess stomach acid overnight, and that if I don't give my body something substantial to process, it will attack my stomach lining instead and make me feel sick in the morning.

[crunchynerd]

Last time, I had sickness all. the. time. and even after the first tri, and at first, sea bands seemed to help, but then there came a point at which they weren't enough, and then I found that B6 plus a unisom broken in half, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, helped the most. 

I was very leery of unisom because of the fear of taking anything during pg, but found out it's the Canadian solution of choice by docs there, and has decades of evidence as to safety, and in fact, the active ingredient, even though marketed as a sleep aid, is also an anti-histamine, as well as anti-nausea agent.

I also worry about antihistamines because of the bad effects on my mood that Claritin and Zyrtec had on me back when I gave them a try, so I know they have more than just one effect.

So I researched the daylights out of it, consulted several pharmacists who agreed that the information they could get was that there was one study showing it to be unsafe but that the one study had been found to have used poor methodology and couldn't be duplicated, and that no negative effects had been found.

And it worked. If I get sick like that again this time, it's my go-to solution if it gets beyond the ability of crystallized ginger, Gin-Gin candies, and herbal teas, and sea bands.

[kamakeg]

I took prenatals that contain ginger (vitamin code ones) and they use raw iron that seems to be easy on the stomach and they are chelated. Plus! Drinking fresh lemon + ginger every morning before and during my pregnancy apparently really helped avoid morning sickness, according to my naturopath. 

I was fortunate in that I did not have much morning sickness, just nausea for a couple of weeks at 5 pm. I went off dairy and fish (I don't eat any other type of animal product) so just stopped eating it for awhile. Listening to my body and just not eating anything that made me feel nauseous worked. I was expecting really bad morning sickness because my mother had it all 9 months during her pregnancies but I was lucky in that regard. 

Side note: My husband looked into mostly veggie based diets to see if there was any research in that and the connection to reduced or no morning sickness and he actually found some evidence supporting that theory. 

[MariesMama]

Unisom and B6 have helped a ton this time around.  I swear, with DD I must have slept through the entire first trimester.  This time I've had to take Unisom every night or I'll wake up at 3 or 4 am as queasy as ever. 

Newman's Ginger mints have helped a lot, as have crackers and water.  I feel terrible for my husband though - we just bought an old house and every single smell in it makes me want to hurl worse than anything.  So he's been a trooper and has been cleaning it for me while I putz around our rental and pack up!