How To Beat Morning Sickness With These 10 Effective Tips

Inside: Tired of getting sick or feeling nauseous during your pregnancy? Find out how to beat morning sickness with these 10 tips!

Morning sickness…The constant queasiness, the familiar sight of the up close toilet seat, gagging while you brush your teeth, always wanting to heave your guts up at any given moment. This is a feeling I’m, (and probably you if you’re reading this) all too familiar with.

Morning sickness is a constant battle for those women who have to go through it.

It affects many pregnant women and it usually lasts for the first trimester, but for some women it can last longer or even throughout your entire pregnancy. It’s also not something that only occurs in the morning, it can strike at any time of the day.

I had morning sickness during both of my pregnancies and the battle to control the nausea was fierce. But there were tricks I learned along the way that helped to control it, along with tips my midwife gave me.

Since this is something you have to deal with, let’s talk about some ways to make it less sucky!

How to Beat Morning Sickness

1. Eat frequently

One thing that happened to me when I was pregnant the first time, was constant nausea. I eventually learned from my healthcare provider it was because I wasn’t eating frequently enough.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that it’s really difficult to eat when you feel sick. But it can actually make you feel worse if you don’t eat. What happens is you start to not feel good or you don’t feel hungry so you don’t eat, your blood sugar drops, and you feel more nauseous, which makes you not want to eat even more, and the cycle continues.

Try eating small, high protein snacks throughout the day to keep your blood sugar up. Also the high protein snacks will keep you fuller for longer so you won’t need to eat a lot.

Also, bring snacks with you. Keep a stash in your desk at work, keep some in your purse, your car, and wherever else you need them. This way you won’t go too long without eating.

2. Take some time off work

If you’re constantly feeling sick or if you’re vomiting, you may want to consider taking some time off work. It doesn’t have to be a long time, in fact you could take just a day or two off. But that time to rest and recharge can make you feel a lot better than trying to stay at work and power through feeling sick.

Plus if you do end up vomiting, you’ll feel better doing it at home than at work.

3. Let your doctor know

Sometimes your morning sickness can be so bad that you can’t eat or drink anything at all and that’s no good for obvious reasons. There are medicines your doctor can give you to help ease your severe morning sickness, so speak up!

Even if you aren’t sure if your morning sickness is severe enough for medicine, it never hurts to ask.

4. Eat what you can

When I was first pregnant, I wanted to make sure I was eating super healthy for my body and baby.

But the only things I could eat and drink were bland white rice, lime la croix, and plain waffles. I lived on those for several weeks!

The only time I got pregnant ‘hangry’ was when I wanted to eat some plain waffles and found out my boyfriend had eaten them all! I didn’t want to eat anything else so I actually made him go to the store right then and get more because it was the only thing I could manage to eat!

The moral of the story is, eating something is better than nothing. Or eating and then puking it back up! So if there’s foods that are working for you, (even if they aren’t the healthiest option) at least you’re managing to get something down!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

5. Try ginger

Many women swear by drinking ginger ale, sucking on ginger lollipops, or adding ginger slices to their water. Ginger is known for being a stomach soother so this is an option you can try.

6. Try resting or napping

Getting some rest can be a good way to escape your morning sickness. Plus the extra sleep is always good for you too.

If you have young kids, you can nap while they nap, (I definitely did this).

If they’re out of the napping stage, have everyone go into a childproof room, (their bedroom for example) and lay down while they play. This way you’re still there with them but they’re safe to play while you close your eyes for a little bit.

7. Try citrus

The fresh scent of lemon can help quell your nausea from bad scents like garbage, unpleasant food, or other offending odors. You can have a fresh lemon and squirt it in your water, (or just sniff a lemon slice). You could also have lemon essential oils around your house.

Sucking on a lemon can reduce your nausea too. If lemons are too sour you can try an orange.

8. Try not to lay down too soon after you’ve eaten

It’ll take your food longer to digest which can make you feel pukey. Also you could end up with heartburn which is another unpleasant feeling you want to avoid.

9. If you can, avoid bad smells

Obviously you can’t control every bad smell you encounter, but avoid those you can.

Take your garbage out frequently.
If you have a cat make sure your partner is changing their litter box daily, (or more if it’s necessary).
Make sure the dishes don’t pile up in the sink and are cleaned often.
Ask your partner not to make any food that smells too strong.
And avoid going to restaurants that smell bad to you.

10. Do this when brushing your teeth

If you’re like me and brushing your teeth triggers your gag reflex, try waiting at least a half an hour after you’ve eaten to brush. Also don’t brush with your head down because that can also trigger your gag reflex, (ask me how I know).

I probably looked real strange switching between brushing with my head pointed up to the ceiling and staring straight ahead, but it majorly helped to not have my head down until the very end when I had to rinse my mouth.

Final thoughts

Although morning sickness is a sucky part of pregnancy that you have to endure, these tips and tricks will show you how to beat morning sickness and will help you feel better so your toilet doesn’t have to be your face’s best friend!

The 12 Best Books For Pregnancy & Childbirth

12 Decisions To Make Before Labor: If You Don’t Make Them, Someone Else Will

How To Write A Birth Plan

Top 10 Items You Need For Your Second Baby