Morning sickness is something most women have heard of, even women who have not been pregnant. For some women morning sickness is the first indication they are pregnant, even before taking a pregnancy test.

The term morning sickness can be deceiving because nausea and vomiting can last all day. It is true that the symptoms hit many women the hardest when they first wake up, but then some women feel fine during the day and get hit with the symptoms in the evening. We all can agree that the symptoms are miserable and we just want them gone.

Morning sickness affects about 70% of pregnant women during their first trimester, which lasts until the end of the 12^th week. Many women start having symptoms in the first month of pregnancy and they typically last until 12-16 weeks. Unfortunately, for some the nausea and vomiting will last the entire pregnancy. Every woman is different, and each pregnancy is different.

According to Stanford Medicine, it is thought that the sudden increase of hormones and the presence of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) are the culprits. hCG is the hormone that the body starts to release when the pregnancy implants in the uterus; the placenta continues to produce this hormone throughout the pregnancy. The experts still don’t know the exact cause of morning sickness, but research is being done to figure that out. In fact, researchers have just isolated a hormone and they are hoping to figure out how to use the new discovery to help moms battle morning sickness.

Until we have new information, below are some tips you can use to try and get through this phase of the pregnancy.

• Eat a few crackers before getting out of bed in the morning and before bedtime.
• Avoid eating 3 large meals – instead, eat small frequent meals throughout the day & don’t skip meals. Many women feel nauseous if their stomach is empty or if they eat too much at one time.
• Avoid greasy, fatty, and spicy foods.
• Try the BRATT diet – bananas, rice (white), applesauce, toast, and tea; these foods are bland and should not be hard on the stomach.
• Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. It can be hard drinking water when you are nauseous, so take small sips. Consider putting some fresh fruit in it or a splash of juice to make it more palatable, but you do not want to drink a lot of sugar.
• Consider trying over-the-counter Vitamin B6. You can take 10-25 mg every 8 hours. You need to take it consistently for a few days to notice a real difference.
• If Vitamin B6 alone is not helping, you can also add half a tablet of Unisom (doxylamine); the combination of the 2 is supposed to be effective for treating pregnancy nausea. HOWEVER, Unisom/doxylamine is a sleep aid, so you may want to take it before bed. NO driving or operating heavy equipment if the sleep aid is taken. It is always recommended to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medication.
• Consider keeping Preggy Pop Drops Plus with you when you are on the go. Each pop has 10mg of Vitamin B6.
• There are other remedies for morning sickness, such as ginger ale, tea, candies & peppermint tea or candies.
• Sea-Bands are cheap & safe – they are worn on the wrist to provide acupressure, which studies have shown to be effective at treating pregnancy nausea and vomiting.