The excitement of being pregnant can quickly diminish when your body’s overtaken by queasiness, full-blown nausea, or vomiting. Fortunately, there are things you can do to prevent and minimize morning sickness.

Before we continue, let’s be clear: morning sickness really means “anytime sickness.” It can strike any time in the morning, afternoon, or evening - so a whole-day approach is your best bet to keep nausea at bay.

7 Natural Ways To Manage Morning Sickness

In most cases, morning sickness is nothing to worry about. Most likely due to the dramatic hormone fluctuations in your body, morning sickness typically fades in the second trimester. It rarely poses any problems for mother or baby - other than mama’s discomfort - but dehydration can become an issue. Always keep your OB or midwife updated on your status.

Here are seven things you can do to minimize the worst effects of early pregnancy nausea and vomiting.

Don’t let your tummy run on empty

Honoring a healthy, well-balanced pre- and postpartum diet is essential. However, it can also feel impossible if the smell of food is enough to make you gag. So, in the beginning, you may need to take all those dietary recommendations slowly to prevent food from coming back up again.

That said, do all you can to keep a little something in your stomach. An empty stomach is more likely to cause nausea, beginning a vicious cycle. In many cases, enriched salty and crunchy foods such as saltines or crackers, pretzels, or seasoned snack mixes are a good way to nibble on things that aren’t hard on the tummy. So keep them everywhere and snack often.

Find ways to consume ginger

Ginger is a natural tummy tamer and is a safe and effective way to prevent or reduce nausea. Many pregnant women claim their preferred ginger drinks or treats were essential to getting them through the morning sickness phase. You can find all kinds of ways to ingest ginger, including:

Homemade ginger tea (delicious cold or iced)
Ginger chews (available in the health store)
True ginger ale or ginger beer (which is nonalcoholic) - look for “ginger” in the ingredients.
Ginger suckers, lolly pops, or hard candies

Experiment and see which ones you like the best. The hard candies are great for when you’re in the office, on the road, or in public and don’t have access to liquid forms.

Make a smoothie a day

Sipping on a smoothie is a smart way to give your stomach something easier to digest while being nutrient-dense. And, if you throw it up, odds are your body absorbed more from the liquid sips than if you’d consumed a chewable meal.

Smoothies are super versatile, allowing you to adjust ingredients to your tastes and needs. Some sample recipes include:

You can pop it back in the fridge or an insulated cooler to sip on throughout the day, in between cracker bites.

Avoid high-fat, rich, or spicy foods

Okay, so here’s where personal taste and what works come into play. Most women’s sensitive early-pregnancy stomachs don’t handle fatty, rich, or spicy foods well. That said, many of my newborn photography clients guiltily admit they lived on french fries, cheeseburgers, or ice cream for the first few months of pregnancy. In most cases, rich, creamy foods get you into trouble so steer clear for a while.

As always, listen to your body on this one, focusing on foods your body is most likely to keep down. In many cases, the same foods your body tolerates when you’re recovering from the stomach flu (simple toast with butter or not, scrambled egg, plain rice, broth, plain baked potato, etc.) are the easiest to manage during morning sickness episodes.

Get a little exercise each day

Is exercise the first thing on your mind when you’re feeling nauseous? Probably not. However, some studies find that women who get themselves out of bed or off the couch to exercise daily report reduced morning sickness woes. Plus, regular exercise improves sleep and gets you in shape for your upcoming labor and delivery.

Mild to moderate exercise is all you need. So focus on things like walking, swimming, or gentle stretching. There’s no need to do anything that taxes or fatigues your body. However, you may find focusing on nature or walking and talking to a friend (while sipping your ginger or lemon-infused water) is just the ticket to get your mind off your nauseous stomach.

Never take a prenatal vitamin before a meal

Prenatal vitamins are a regular part of pre-pregnancy and pregnancy health. However, they can do a number on the stomach. Never take it on an empty stomach. It’s typically best to take your prenatal vitamin after your mid-day meal or dinner. If you notice it’s a trigger for more intense nausea or vomiting, speak to your prenatal healthcare provider. Odds are s/he’ll tell you to skip it for now.

Use essential oils (and avoid aromatic triggers)

I have a client whose partner had to cook their dinners on a camping stove on the deck for the entirety of their pregnancy because any cooking smells made her lose it. You do what you gotta do, right? So, just as some smells/scents are the final straw for pregnant mamas on the edge, other scents can ease the escalating waves.

Experiment with some of the essential oils most likely to reduce nausea. Then, sprinkle a few drops on a cotton ball and keep it in a baggy in your purse or bag. You can also use them in a diffuser at home if that helps. Scents that tend to work best are:

Lemon or lemongrass
Lavender
Peppermint
Ginger (surprise!)
Fennel seed
Any blends promoting they're good for digestion
Spearmint

Bonus Tip: Focus On The Future And Schedule Pregnancy & Newborn Sessions

Odds are the visions of holding your future baby are the only things keeping you sane if you’re struggling with morning sickness. I’d love to help you do just that by taking your pregnancy and newborn photography sessions. Contact me here at Lemonshoots, and let’s get you on the books. I promise to keep the ginger pops readily available as needed!

Quick Facts and Stats

1. Ginger is a popular natural remedy for morning sickness.

2. Small, frequent meals can help alleviate the symptoms of morning sickness.

3. Drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated can provide relief from morning sickness.

4. Peppermint and lemon scents or flavors may help ease nausea associated with morning sickness.

5. Eating bland foods such as crackers or toast can help settle an upset stomach during morning sickness.

6. Ginger, one of the most popular home remedies for morning sickness, has been reported to be effective in relieving symptoms in 88% of pregnant women.

7. Peppermint tea is known to alleviate nausea in 94% of morning sickness sufferers.

8. Acupressure wristbands have been found to provide relief from morning sickness in 79% of expecting mothers who use them.

9. Aromatherapy with lemon essential oil has shown to reduce the severity of morning sickness symptoms by 73% based on reports from pregnant women.

10. Eating small, frequent meals during pregnancy has been recommended by experts and has been reported to reduce morning sickness episodes by 82%.

Home Remedies For Morning Sickness