Morning sickness is not harmful to you or your baby, but if you experience excessive vomiting and cannot keep your food down, you may have hyperemesis gravidarum. Hyperemesis gravidarum can be harmful to you and your baby if severe and left untreated, due to the possible lack of nutrients and electrolyte imbalance. The most important thing is to inform your health care provider when these symptoms appear and discuss possible options for treatment.
Tips to relieve morning sickness
The tips below may help reduce morning sickness:
- Eat small meals throughout the day so that you're never too full or too hungry.
- Avoid rich, spicy, greasy or fatty foods.
- Avoid foods with smells that bother you or make you nauseous.
- Eat more carbohydrates (plain baked potato, white rice or dry toast).
- Eat bland foods when you feel nauseous (such as saltine crackers, gelatin desserts such as Jell-O, popsicles, chicken broths, ginger ale and pretzels).
- The iron in prenatal vitamins can bother some women. If you think your morning sickness is related to your vitamins, talk with your doctor and he or she may change your vitamins.
- Before getting out of bed in the morning, eat a few saltine crackers to calm your stomach.
- Wearing "acupressure" wrist bands, which are sometimes used by passengers on boats to prevent sea sickness, may help some women who have morning sickness. You can buy the bands at drugstores, boating stores or travel agencies.
