Sometimes nausea can follow you throughout pregnancy, but it is most common at the beginning. For some it is manageable and for others it is much worse. If you feel that your nausea is preventing you from carrying out your everyday life, there are a number of things that you can try. They may not fix everything, but they may help a little.

Morning sickness is common and is caused by the hormones in the body that change with pregnancy. Usually, the nausea goes away by itself after a few weeks, but not always. Most commonly, the nausea goes away when you enter the second trimester, but this may not be the case for everyone. If the nausea is causing distress, there are some home remedies to try, however, it cannot be said that these will definitely help. But it doesn’t hurt to try, right? Here are some tips to relieve your nausea!

17 tips to relieve morning sickness

1. Eat something small as soon as you wake up, preferably before you get out of bed. The nausea tends to be worse on an empty stomach.
2. You can also eat something small before you go to bed at night to counteract low blood sugar in the morning (which can lead to nausea)!
3. Fatigue can contribute to increased nausea. Take every opportunity to sleep, rest and recover.
4. Drink plenty of fluids. This is especially important for people who vomit!
5. If you haven’t tried acupuncture before, it might be worth a try, as some people find that it relieves nausea.
6. Aim to eat small portions of food regularly rather than larger portions infrequently
7. Avoid coffee and black tea as it stimulates stomach acid
8. Choose boiled food over fried as it is kinder to the stomach
9. By avoiding stress, you can relieve nausea (this can be extra difficult if you already have children or work a lot, but try!)
10. Motion sickness bracelets can trigger points on the wrist that relieve nausea. You can also try massaging the inside of your wrist yourself!
11. Fatty foods and strong spices should be avoided as they can trigger nausea
12. Carbonated drinks can have a soothing effect on nausea, try sparkling water and see if that helps.
13. There is some research that vitamin B6 supplements can help with nausea!
14. Eat small portions often! Something small every two hours is better than three proper meals a day.
15. Staying cool usually helps with the nausea when it’s at its worst. Try to sleep with open windows and wear cool clothes. Rinsing your hands and wrists in cold water usually also feels good.
16. Some pregnant women find that motion sickness tablets help, you can buy these without a prescription
17. If none of the above helps, you can try prescription anti-nausea medications. Discuss this with your midwife and she will help you with it.

Finally: Don’t be afraid to change routines such as eating breakfast and lunch at certain times and let your mood guide you instead. Anything goes when you are pregnant and unwell! If you feel like you;ve tried everything and nothing is helping, you can always turn to your midwife for support and help.

If you suffer from extreme nausea, it may be that you have suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Read our article about exactly what this means here.