Natural Remedies for Morning Sickness
Between 50 and 90 percent of pregnant women experience morning sickness. So if everything smells awful and you wake up nauseous, you’re in good (albeit miserable) company. Unfortunately, there is no magic pill that curbs morning sickness. Instead, try out a bunch of safe, natural remedies to find what works for you. Mary Jane Detroyer, MS, RDN, CDN, a nutritionist who works with expectant and postnatal women, suggests a few.
Ginger
As perhaps the most famous of all natural morning sickness remedies, ginger’s effectiveness is well documented. One 2014 article published by the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine examined the results of six studies on ginger and pregnancy. The researchers concluded that ginger is an “effective nonpharmacological treatment” for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
Detroyer’s anecdotal evidence echoes those results. “I have had a few clients use ginger in different forms, and it has worked to relieve their morning sickness two ways: to reduce the severity and frequency of their symptoms,” she says. Her clients have found relief using crystalized ginger candy, ginger lollipops, ginger chews, ginger capsules and ginger tea.
Dry Carbohydrates
Toast, crackers, pita bread, pretzels: When eaten dry, these carbs may help settle your stomach. Many women keep these foods by the side of the bed to snack on in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning. Greasy, spicy, strong smelling or dairy-heavy foods tend to contribute to nausea and vomiting in many women, says Detroyer, but most can tolerate these dry solids.
Meal Adjustments
It sounds deceptively simple, but Detroyer says that simply changing the frequency and texture of your meals can head off bouts of nausea and vomiting. She recommends her clients eat six small meals per day, and she says that making small substitutions to favorite meals can help improve symptoms. “Some of my clients have found they do not do well with red meat or chicken,” she says, so she recommends they swap those out for flaky white fish instead. Rather than pouring cow’s milk over cereal, Detroyer might suggest a dairy-free alternative such as almond milk.
Some women are more easily able to digest meals if they’re liquified, Detroyer suggests. Drinking smoothies and smooth soups can help you get some a great deal of necessary nutrients without upsetting your stomach.
Acupressure and Acupuncture
Research shows that wearing acupressure bands on the wrists is an effective way to reduce nausea and vomiting. You can purchase these bands from a drug store and wear them throughout the day, or apply pressure yourself when you feel a bout of morning sickness coming on. Use your fingers to press down on the PC6 point, which the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists describes as “about 2.5 finger breadths up from the wrist crease on the inside of the forearm.”
Similarly, acupuncture works on the body’s pressure points. While Detroyer hasn’t had any patients try acupuncture for morning sickness, she believes that “it is so effective for creating balance in the body,” and could be a useful remedy for some suffering women. Acupuncture is generally safe for pregnant women, but talk to your doctor before trying it.
Kathryn Walsh is a freelance writer specializing in parenting and travel topics. Her work has appeared on mom.me, TheBump.com, and USAToday.com. She has never once remembered to pack socks for a trip.
