Morning sickness. My own experience and a nutritionist’s advise for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
I am writing this having just come out of the first trimester of my second pregnancy with my own experience still fresh in my mind. If you have experienced morning sickness, it can be incredibly debilitating and at the time feel like it is never-ending. While there are some women who may not experience morning sickness a lot of women do, around 8 in 10 women. There is however a spectrum ranging from mild nausea to the most severe form of morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). The good news is for many women symptoms typically ease around 12 -20 weeks. There are however some women who are affected right through to their third trimester. 1
The cause of morning sickness is thought to be related to hormonal changes in pregnancy, most notably the hCG hormone but also oestrogen. There is also a theory that there is an evolutionary benefit, meaning women are more likely to avoid potentially harmful foods as a result of their nausea and heightened smell. Thanks, evolution. Furthermore, delayed gastric emptying that occurs in pregnancy due to a reduction in gastric motility as a result of progesterone hormone may also contribute to nausea 2.
My experience the second time around was a little different to my first pregnancy. I started to get nauseated around the 6-7 week mark and it gradually built and then peaked around week 10 before getting significantly better around week 15. As with many women, the nausea was not isolated to the morning but lasted most of the day and for me seemed to peak in the evenings. It can best be described for me as a constant hangover feeling but without alcohol! Along with nausea came a real aversion to certain smells or even thoughts of particular foods. The kitchen went from being my favourite place in the house to a no-go zone. Whilst my experience will resonate with some women everyone will have a different story to tell.
Now I am well into my second trimester I look back and realise how dreadful I felt. While I managed to keep working and doing a lot of my normal activities I certainly needed more help with looking after my 2-year-old and spent any moment I could resting and looking after myself. Easier said than done I know. I think perhaps what isn’t talked about so much is the impact morning sickness can have on your mental health. Those first weeks of pregnancy can in fact be very isolating and anxiety inducing so I encourage anyone who is struggling to reach out. That could be to family, friends or your midwife or doctor.
I also wanted to write this blog to pass on some advice to fellow women who like me might be googling in the night ‘when will this nausea end’.
I think the first bit of advice when it comes to morning sickness really is don't be too hard on yourself and take it easy when you can. Whilst you may have all the good intentions for a healthy and nutritious diet during your pregnancy morning sickness can really put a spanner in the works and have you craving beige sugary food. This was certainly the case for me. So rather than feeling guilty listen to your body and have the foods you are craving but also maximise on those moments when you do feel a bit better to get in those veggies and a nutritious meal. Below are a few tips that can help.
Snacks. Always have snacks to hand and don’t let yourself get too hungry. Having an empty stomach can really impact nausea so eating little and often can really help. I wasn’t up to cooking so I would buy dried fruit and nut mixes, cereal bars and have fruit to hand. I craved cold citrus fruits or grapes and found these quite well tolerated.
Embrace the smoothie. Eating greens was out of the question but a cold tasty smoothie was ok. I would often have a green smoothie as a way of disguising greens and would also have fruits, nuts, oats and dairy blended in to make it nutritionally balanced.
Accept the help. I really could not stand cooking and if I did manage to cook would often not fancy eating it but found food prepared by someone else easier to tolerate.
Cold foods. cold foods often have less of a smell and are easier to eat if nauseated, for example, I went completely off fish, even salmon my favourite but cooked and chilled in the fridge made it much easier to eat.
Ginger. You have probably heard of the benefits of ginger for morning sickness. Whilst I wouldn’t say for me it was a miracle cure I did opt for fresh ginger and lemon tea which was nice to slowly sip on.
If you are really struggling do reach out to your health team, which may be your midwife or your GP as there are other options to help with morning sickness. It is also important if you are struggling to keep food or fluid down or unable to eat or drink you see your health team due to the risk of dehydration or not getting enough nutrients in. I found the NHS website a helpful resource as well as the pregnancy sickness support website so do check them out.
If you want any additional support around pregnancy sickness or pregnancy nutrition please click here to drop me a message.
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