Morning Sickness Got You Down? 5 Ways To Feel Like Yourself Now!
Photo Courtesy of Sofia Katherine Photography
By Kari Pettersen
Morning sickness! Two words pregnant women dread. Who doesn’t want to wake up feeling refreshed, glowing and energized?! Instead, pregnancy can bring on vomiting, nausea and generally feeling awful all day long. So, what causes your pregnancy bliss to be turned into feeling like your hungover all day long? You can thank changes in HCG and Progestrone for that. It is believed that nausea is triggered by changes in these hormones. HCG can cause changes with smell, taste and saliva. Increased progesterone with pregnancy may reduce gastric mobility and muscle tone causing a delayed transit of food from the small intestine, large intestine and stomach. It is also believed that a women’s vomiting centre in the brain’s receptors are being triggered similar to motion sickness and that is what is contributing to the nausea women feel. Regardless, this time can be a hard time to cope. Here are some simple ways to help alleviate some of the terrible symptoms of morning sickness.
1.Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been shown to greatly improve how women feel when it comes to morning sickness. It may not completely take the morning sickness away but it can give women the relief that they are seeking. Even really sick women find that after acupuncture they can tolerate a little more food or a little more fluids after treatment. Don’t just take my word on it. There are lots of great studies that show that acupuncture has a positive effect. The study by Carolyn Smith showed increased improvement when acupuncture was done when compared to sham acupuncture or no acupuncture. This study also further proved that acupuncture is safe in pregnancy when there were no more negative birth outcomes, congenital abnormalities, pregnancy complications and other infant outcomes than the sham and no acupuncture groups.
In addition to acupuncture, there are some lifestyle and diet advice that can be applied between treatments.
2.Rest
You have a lot of changes happening to the body and if you are exhausted than your body is telling you to rest. I am here to tell you that you are not being lazy and things will be fine if you don’t get to it right away. Resting is actually a form of self care and something you really need to do at this time. I encourage you to really listening to your body during the first 12-14 weeks. That also means not quickly doing stuff because you might feel better than yesterday. My rule of thumb is once you start to see fewer days of feeling tired and more days of feeling better for a certain period of time than you can start to incorporate doing more stuff. This is a time to call on your friends, hubby and support groups to help out if they can.
3.Diet
Women need to balance their blood sugar levels. If they do not eat at the right time then they can quickly hit a low.
Here are some ways to balance this.
Try to eat every 1-2 hours.
Carry snacks with you.
If you get caught without food it is better to buy something (a nut bar for example) and to eat just a few bites until you get home then not eating at all.
Overeating can be a problem as well. Even if you start feeling better there is a temptation to want to eat bigger meals but it is best if that is avoided and you continue on with the frequent snacking.
It can be common to want foods that are more easily digested. Do not feel guilty about not wanting bran muffins or green vegetables. It is better to make sure you are eating until you feel better than worrying so much about nutrition. Proper nutrition can be focused on when you are feeling better.
4.Fluids
Dehydration is big concern for women who are vomiting often. For these women staying hydrated is crucial. These tricks may not make your nausea feel better but it can keep you stay hydrated and keep you from feeling worse than you already feel.
Suck on ice cubes or keep some fruits in the fridge like grapes that you can suck on.
Adding electrolytes to water.
Eating foods that are really moist like peaches.
Potato Soup - Why potato soup? Potatoes are very nutritious and easy to digest so it is a great way to get lots of nutrients. This soup is very simple to make. Simply add oil to a pot, then add water, potatoes, salt and pepper. Allow the potatoes to simmer then strain. Drink the clear liquid you get from boiling the potato’s to get the nutrients. Try drinking this soup in little sips every hour to rehydrate yourself. This is especially helpful for women who have a hard time keeping anything down.
5.Smells
Try bringing an essential oil that does not make you feel nauseous. That way if you come across a smell that is horrible you can counteract the awful smell.
In a pinch try using lemon peel or smelling a cut lemon or lime.
Remember
Diet and lifestyle is important to enhance treatments. Once you start to feel better from your treatment it is important that you do not overdo it. Treatments are aimed at strengthening the body so it responds more effectively but if you are letting your blood sugar levels get low or do not rest enough the morning sickness can come back.
Source
Betts, D. (2006). The essential guide to acupuncture in pregnancy and childbirth. Hove, East Sussex, UK :The Journal of Chinese Medicine Ltd.
Betts, D. (2020). The complete A to Z guide to using acupuncture in pregnancy and childbirth. Retrieved from https://www.healthyseminars.com/course/z-guide-using-acupuncture-pregnancy-and-childbirth/takecourse.
West, Z. (2008). Acupuncture in Pregnancy and Childbirth Second Addition. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Elsevier LTD.