What stops morning sickness

Vomiting and morning sickness - NHS

Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, often known as morning sickness, is very common in early pregnancy.

It can affect you at any time of the day or night or you may feel sick all day long.

Morning sickness is unpleasant, and can significantly affect your day-to-day life. But it usually clears up by weeks 16 to 20 of your pregnancy and does not put your baby at any increased risk.

There is a chance of developing a severe form of pregnancy sickness called hyperemesis gravidarum. This can be serious, and there's a chance you may not get enough fluids in your body (dehydration) or not get enough nutrients from your diet (malnourishment). You may need specialist treatment, sometimes in hospital.

Sometimes urinary tract infections (UTIs) can also cause nausea and vomiting. A UTI usually affects the bladder, but can spread to the kidneys.

Non-urgent advice: Call your midwife, GP or 111 if:

you're vomiting and:

have very dark-coloured urine or have not had a pee in more than 8 hours
are unable to keep food or fluids down for 24 hours
feel severely weak, dizzy or faint when standing up
have tummy (abdominal) pain
have a high temperature
vomit blood
have lost weight

Treatments for morning sickness

Unfortunately, there's no hard and fast treatment that will work for everyone’s morning sickness. Every pregnancy will be different.

But there are some changes you can make to your diet and daily life to try to ease the symptoms.

If these do not work for you or you're having more severe symptoms, your doctor or midwife might recommend medicine.

Things you can try yourself

If your morning sickness is not too bad, your GP or midwife will initially recommend you try some lifestyle changes:

get plenty of rest (tiredness can make nausea worse)
avoid foods or smells that make you feel sick
eat something like dry toast or a plain biscuit before you get out of bed
eat small, frequent meals of plain foods that are high in carbohydrate and low in fat (such as bread, rice, crackers and pasta)
eat cold foods rather than hot ones if the smell of hot meals makes you feel sick
drink plenty of fluids, such as water (sipping them little and often may help prevent vomiting)
eat foods or drinks containing ginger – there's some evidence ginger may help reduce nausea and vomiting (check with your pharmacist before taking ginger supplements during pregnancy)
try acupressure – there's some evidence that putting pressure on your wrist, using a special band or bracelet on your forearm, may help relieve the symptoms

Find out more about vitamins and supplements in pregnancy

Anti-sickness medicine

If your nausea and vomiting is severe and does not improve after trying the above lifestyle changes, your GP may recommend a short-term course of an anti-sickness medicine, called an antiemetic, that's safe to use in pregnancy.

Often this will be a type of antihistamine, which are usually used to treat allergies but also work as medicines to stop sickness (antiemetic).

Antiemetics will usually be given as tablets for you to swallow.

But if you cannot keep these down, your doctor may suggest an injection or a type of medicine that's inserted into your bottom (suppository).

See your GP if you'd like to talk about getting anti-sickness medication.

Risk factors for morning sickness

It's thought hormonal changes in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy are probably one of the causes of morning sickness.

But you may be more at risk of it if:

you're having twins or more
you had severe sickness and vomiting in a previous pregnancy
you tend to get motion sickness (for example, car sick)
you have a history of migraine headaches
morning sickness runs in the family
you used to feel sick when taking contraceptives containing oestrogen
it's your first pregnancy
you're obese (your BMI is 30 or more)
you're experiencing stress

Visit the pregnancy sickness support site for tips for you and your partner on dealing with morning sickness.

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Video: how can I cope with morning sickness?

In this video, a midwife gives advice on how to deal with morning sickness during your pregnancy.

Media last reviewed: 25 January 2023
Media review due: 25 January 2026

Community content from HealthUnlocked

Page last reviewed: 13 April 2021
Next review due: 13 April 2024

Morning sickness: 10 foods that fight nausea during pregnancy

News & Blog

Posted on August 25, 2022 (February 27, 2023) by Mai Songsawatwong

When morning sickness strikes during the early weeks of your pregnancy, you want fast relief from nausea and vomiting. Fortunately, there are many tips to help calm your upset stomach, including foods that fight nausea during pregnancy.

Nausea during pregnancy can happen any time of the day or night. It usually starts between the first 4 to 6 weeks of pregnancy and gets better by week 14. Since nearly 75% of women experience morning sickness at some point during their pregnancy, there are many tried and true methods available to find relief, such as sticking to the best foods for pregnancy nausea.

Feel prepared and know what to expect with the first trimester to-do list from The Mother Baby Center, conveniently located in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Coon Rapids.

What causes morning sickness?

Not all women experience morning sickness the same way. Some feel queasy only occasionally, and others feel sick all day long but might never throw up. There are a few possible causes of morning sickness:

Hormones. The pregnancy hormone hCG peaks around the time morning sickness is the worst. Also, estrogen and progesterone levels rise during pregnancy, which relax the digestive tract muscles and make digestion less efficient (and might also cause heartburn).
Sensitivity to odors. Your heightened sense of smell during pregnancy can make some scents sickening.
Excess saliva. Experts suspect this is the body’s way of protecting your mouth, teeth, and throat from the corrosive effects of stomach acid, which can increase when you’re queasy.
Stress and fatigue. Emotional stress and being very tired can trigger nausea.
First-time pregnancy. If your body hasn’t gone through a pregnancy before, the surge of hormones and other changes you’re experiencing might make nausea more likely.

Hot weather. It can be hard to get comfortable when you’re pregnant, especially if you’re overheated.
Genetics. If your mom or sister had morning sickness, chances are better you will, too.

Quick morning sickness relief

There’s so much to do when planning for your baby’s arrival. It’s essential to take time for yourself to rest and destress. Rushing and exhaustion tend to aggravate nausea.

Remember to get enough sleep and keep your stress level in check with meditation or prenatal yoga. Keep crackers or cereal on your bedside table so you can have a snack before you fall asleep or right when you wake up. This can give you some morning sickness relief.

Understand pregnancy food cravings and what they mean about you and baby.

Best foods for morning sickness

Nausea and vomiting are always unpleasant and stressful. For some women, it’s crucial to proactively eat certain foods to help treat morning sickness before it becomes more severe. Other expectant moms find relief with particular food and drinks when the queasiness kicks in. It’s also vital to eat and drink after vomiting to replace fluids, electrolytes, and calories.

While we wish there was a morning sickness cure, these foods and drinks can help with nausea during pregnancy:

Bland, easy-to-digest foods (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
High-protein foods (chicken, peanut butter, beans)
Cold beverages and snacks (smoothies, almond milk)
Ginger
Carbonated beverages
Herbal teas and broth
Fruits and vegetables high in water content (watermelon, cucumbers)
Citrus fruits
Peppermint
Foods high in vitamin B6 (salmon, avocados)

Bland, easy-to-digest foods

One of the oldest tricks in the book to help ease morning sickness is still a winner for a reason: bland foods during pregnancy are easy to digest. The B.R.A.T. diet consists of bananas, (white) rice, applesauce, and toast. These foods don’t have an overwhelming flavor, so they’re less likely to upset your stomach. The starch can also absorb stomach acids to help relieve the queasy feeling.

High-protein foods

Experts have found that protein-rich foods can help with nausea during pregnancy. Proteins like chicken, peanut butter, and beans can calm the waves of nausea by increasing a hormone called gastrin, which aids digestion.

Other high-protein foods that help with morning sickness are hard-boiled eggs, hard cheeses, nuts and trail mix, lean beef, edamame, and Greek yogurt.

Eating high-protein snacks will also help you meet your increased need for protein during pregnancy since most women need around 60 grams of protein per day.

Cold beverages and snacks

Did you know hot foods and drinks are more likely to have an aroma that triggers your gag reflex? For a smell to be detected by your olfactory system, it needs heat, so the warmer something is, the more it will smell. Cold foods have less fragrance, so they might be more palatable when you experience nausea during pregnancy.

Also, sometimes it’s easier to consume liquids when feeling queasy, so reach for cold drinks to help with nausea during pregnancy. Some good options are cold almond milk (which can also settle heartburn) and smoothies (load them up with healthy stuff!)

If you’re having trouble keeping liquids down, try sorbet, frozen yogurt, popsicles, chilled fruits, and ice cream.

Discover support groups for new parents and partners through The Mother Baby Center, conveniently located in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Coon Rapids.

Ginger

Ginger has been extensively studied and commonly used in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years to treat nausea and vomiting, so it’s worth giving it a try when you’re feeling queasy. Sometimes just the smell of fresh ginger can calm an upset stomach.

You’ll want to ensure the foods and drinks you’re consuming contain real ginger (check labels; some prepared foods don’t use real ginger.) Try ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger snaps and candies, ginger biscuits, and crystallized ginger. Use fresh ginger when you’re cooking soups and stir fry.

Other ideas for using ginger to help morning sickness include:

Sprinkling dried ginger on your breakfast oatmeal
Add it to a smoothie
Ginger lollipops and candies are increasingly popular
Grated fresh ginger root can be added to your salad or spicy sauce.

Carbonated beverages

Some pregnant women find mineral water and other carbonated beverages are good morning sickness remedies. The carbonation can help reduce the total acidity of the stomach, making nausea dissipate. Mineral water comes in countless flavors, and you can add your own fruit infusions. Sugary carbonated sodas can also help with pregnancy nausea, but make sure to drink those in moderation.

Remember, carbonation can lead to feeling fullness more quickly than other beverages, so you should sip them slowly and pay attention to any unpleasant side effects like bloating. It can also be helpful to drink fluids a half hour before or after a meal, not with the meal. And make sure to drink small amounts of fluids throughout the day to avoid dehydration.

Herbal teas and broth

Staying hydrated is so important early in your pregnancy. Drinking enough fluids will help settle your stomach and rehydrate your body after throwing up. Plain water is always a great choice, but sometimes a cup of herbal tea is a great drink to help ease nausea during pregnancy.

Not all teas are safe during pregnancy, so stick to herbal teas like chamomile, red raspberry, lemon, spearmint, peppermint, or peach. Adding lemon or ginger to your tea can also help calm nausea.

Sipping soup broth can also be a great way to get hydration and nutrition while calming your stomach. Broth goes down easily, and it contains electrolytes and essential minerals to keep your blood volume up, which can also prevent dehydration and relieve morning sickness.

If hot tea or broth is too aromatic, try cooling them or add ice for a soothing change.

Fruits and vegetables high in water content

We’ve made the point that staying hydrated is one of the best ways to stop morning sickness early in pregnancy and beyond. When drinking fluids makes matters worse, try eating fruits and vegetables with high water content.

Good options to try include:

Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Apples
Celery
Peaches
Cantaloupe
Strawberries
Lettuce
Watermelon

Some pregnant women say watermelon is the best fruit for morning sickness, even when nothing else stays down. In addition to being refreshing and delicious, it can ease heartburn and reduce swelling, and the minerals in it can help prevent muscle cramps. For your growing baby, watermelon is packed with vitamins A, C, B6, potassium, and magnesium, which are important for your baby’s vision, brain, and nervous and immune systems.

Another idea is to add vegetables with high water content to your broth.

Citrus fruits

Try sniffing a lemon when you’re not sure what to eat when you’re nauseous and pregnant. Researchers have found that sniffing lemon scented aromatherapy reduces nausea in pregnant women. Lemons and other citrus fruits in moderation are safe for you and your baby during pregnancy, so add them to your shopping list.

Other uses for lemons or oranges include:

Squeezing them in your water
Lick the slices
Suck sour lemon candy
Steep whole lemons in water to make a fragrant tea
Add lemon or orange zest to yogurt or ice cream

Make sure to stash some lemon drop candies in your bag before you leave the house. Smelling lemon essential oil might also provide some nausea relief.

Peppermint

Like ginger, peppermint has been a morning sickness cure for hundreds of years. Peppermint is safe for you and your baby when consumed in moderation.

Try peppermint tea, add mint syrup to sparkling water, or sprinkle fresh chopped mint on Middle Eastern dishes. If you’re feeling up for it, enjoy a non-alcoholic mojito with extra muddled mint! Peppermint hard candies or gum are great for on-the-go nausea relief.

Consuming peppermint essential oil during pregnancy isn’t recommended. It can make reflux worse.

Learn more about calculating your pregnancy timeline and what changes to expect over the coming months.

Foods high in vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 will probably be discussed a lot when you’re newly pregnant and throughout the next nine months. It’s a super important vitamin for the healthy development of your baby’s brain and nervous system.

Bonus Tip: Vitamin B6 can also help stop morning sickness!

Your doctor might recommend you take a vitamin B6 supplement early in your pregnancy when nausea and vomiting are the worst. Other good sources of vitamin B6 include salmon, avocados, sunflower seeds, pistachios, poultry, dried fruits like prunes and raisins, bananas, spinach, and lean pork or beef.

Expert care delivered at every stage of pregnancy at every Mother Baby Center location.

Can certain foods cause pregnancy nausea?

If you’re already feeling kind of green with morning sickness, the last thing you want to do is eat or drink anything that will make nausea worse. For example:

Skip greasy and processed fast foods, which are hard to digest and won’t do anything to help with morning sickness.
Avoid fatty and spicy foods, which can trigger nausea and heartburn.
Certain food smells might bother you more than before you were pregnant, so turn on fans, have someone else cook for you, or skip those foods altogether.
Carbonated drinks and citrus fruits work as morning sickness remedies for some women, but they do the opposite for others.

Find a pregnancy support group at The Mother Baby Center

Morning sickness is unpleasant but can also be a reassuring reminder that you’re pregnant. Nearly three out of four pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting during their pregnancy, which means there are still women who sail through with no morning sickness. If you have little or no morning sickness, you’re lucky!

But remember, nausea and vomiting can start any time during the second or third month of pregnancy, so it’s good to be thinking about ways to make yourself feel better in case it happens. Knowing the best foods that help with nausea during pregnancy is one way to feel more in control if it happens to you.

If you are nauseous or vomiting during pregnancy, you should eat and drink whatever feels best for you whenever you are able. Talk to your health care provider about other options to manage your morning sickness symptoms, including some prescription medications. A pregnancy support group – like the ones at The Mother Baby Center – is also a great place to get ideas and support.

Remember that morning sickness is temporary, and soon you’ll have a beautiful baby in your arms!

Nausea in the morning | why you feel sick, causes and symptoms, what to do

What is nausea? This is an unpleasant sensation of discomfort in the upper abdomen, mouth and esophagus. Often, a person may experience a feeling of vomiting. There are severe and mild symptoms, which, moreover, are accompanied by a feeling of weakness, sweating, a decrease in blood pressure and a feeling of coldness in the extremities. Such symptoms can be encountered while traveling in a car, during pregnancy, due to poisoning, etc. But, if nausea in the morning is prolonged, then this can cause serious problems in the body. With regular nausea in the morning, you should immediately consult a doctor for advice and diagnosis.

Causes of morning sickness
Which doctor to contact
What to do if you feel sick in the morning

Causes of morning sickness

Morning sickness can be caused by nighttime reflux of bile into the esophagus (gastroesophageal reflux). This symptom usually appears after eating and does not cause any discomfort, which is why the body uses compensatory antireflux mechanisms to suppress it. A sufficiently long morning sickness may indicate a possible gastroesophageal reflux disease or various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, which may be associated with pathologies of such systems as the digestive, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular and reproductive systems. Nausea can even after eating heavy or fatty foods, overeating, as well as eating disorders that may be associated with anorexia or bulimia.

Consider the most common diseases that can cause morning sickness:

Appendicitis . Appendicitis is severe pain in the right side, accompanied by nausea.
Gastric ulcer . An ulcer is accompanied by pain in the chest and / or side, bad breath, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, increased flatulence, stool instability.
Gastritis . Gastritis is one of the most common acute diseases that cause inflammation in the duodenum. In addition to nausea, other unpleasant symptoms appear: burning, heartburn, bloating during and after eating.
Cholecystitis . Inflammation of the gallbladder, accompanied by morning sickness, as well as pain in the right hypochondrium and strong gas formation.
Colitis . Colitis is an inflammatory disease of the colon mucosa, which is characterized by nausea, abdominal pain, flatulence, mucus and blood streaks in the stool.
Enteritis . This is an inflammatory lesion of the mucous membrane of the small intestine. It is characterized by the following symptoms: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain.
Pancreatitis . This is an inflammation of the pancreas that is characterized by morning sickness after eating fatty/fried foods, as well as problems with stools and a bitter taste in the mouth.
Peritonitis . Gradual subsidence of abdominal pain as the general condition of the patient worsens. In severe cases, there may be an increase in multiple organ failure.
Irritable stomach syndrome . The disease is mainly associated with a periodic increase in the production of hydrochloric acid, which is the result of stress, nutritional error and irregular nutrition. Symptoms of functional indigestion are often found in young people.
Giardiasis. It is characterized by heaviness and pain in the epigastrium, right hypochondrium, belching, instability of the stool with a tendency to diarrhea.
Toxoplasmosis. With this disease, the polymorphism of the clinical picture is distinguished with the involvement of many systems and organs.
Erosion of the esophagus. Leakage of aggressive stomach contents into the lower parts of the esophagus in a horizontal position, also combined with sour belching, burning behind the sternum.
Endogenous intoxication. Irritation by toxic substances of the trigger zone in the region of the fourth ventricle of the brain. Unpleasant sensations are created against the background of a general serious condition.

Also, some causes of morning sickness can be:

Pregnancy. Often it can be accompanied by nausea, intoxication (in most cases at an early stage). Nausea during pregnancy is a normal condition and reaction of the female body. It is not recommended to use various medicines for the treatment of the digestive tract. It is better to consult with your doctor about this.
Toxic substances (poisoning, infections).
Migraine. Migraines are characterized by nausea, headache, increased sensitivity to smells and noise.
Some medications and their side effects.
Diseases of the inner ear.
Endocrine disorders.
Head trauma and post-traumatic syndromes.
Viruses, bacteria and parasites.
Hypertension (hypertensive crisis). It is characterized by high blood pressure, which entails a feeling of nausea, dizziness and headache.
Cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, heart failure, etc.).
Intracranial increased pressure.

Which doctor to contact

Morning sickness occurs for various reasons, which can be serious diseases. If nausea does not go away on the second, third day and the condition does not improve, you should immediately seek help from a doctor. It is recommended to visit a general practitioner, a gastroenterologist and, in some cases, a proctologist, a gynecologist at the clinic. In the medical center "DNA Clinic" in Dubna, doctors have extensive experience and will be able to conduct a competent diagnosis of the patient and send him for the necessary tests, after receiving the results of which they will establish a diagnosis and prescribe a course of treatment. You can book online or by phone!

What to do if you feel sick in the morning

It is extremely important to understand that regular morning sickness indicates the presence of pathologies or diseases and it is highly undesirable to self-medicate. It is necessary to see a doctor for an examination, however, if you do not have such an opportunity at the moment, then there are several effective ways that can help reduce or get rid of this problem for a while:

Medications. You need to be very careful and make sure that morning sickness is not the cause of pregnancy or bowel disease.
Eliminate fatty and heavy foods from the diet and try to eat small meals several times a day.
Make medicinal drinks from ginger root, mint and lemon. To make an infusion of these funds, you just need to add them to a glass and pour boiling water, and after 15 minutes you will have a very effective and safe (in the absence of any allergy) remedy for morning sickness.
During pregnancy, it is better for women to drink more fluids. But it is best to consult with a specialist!

You can sign up for a consultation with our doctors at the DNA Clinic medical center in Dubna, or ask any questions that interest you by phone, in the feedback form or by mail. Be healthy!

Make an appointment

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Acupressure for nausea and vomiting

Time to read: Approximately 2 min.

This information explains how to use acupressure (AK-yoo-PREH-sher) to help with nausea and prevent vomiting. Nausea is the sensation of vomit. Vomiting is the eruption of vomit.

Acupressure is a type of massage. It is based on the traditional Chinese medicine practice of acupuncture (AK-yoo-PUNK-cher). With acupressure, pressure is applied to certain points of the body. Such points are called acupuncture points (AK-yoo-points).

Pressing these points allows the muscles to relax and improves blood circulation. It also helps relieve many of the side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea and vomiting.

You can do acupressure at home by applying pressure to various acupuncture points with your fingers. To learn how to do acupressure, watch this video or follow the steps below.

This video will show you how to perform acupressure to help relieve nausea and vomiting.

Details in the video

Massage point P-6 is also known as nay-gwann. It is located on the back of the hand next to the wrist. Massaging this point helps relieve nausea and prevent vomiting.

Massage of this point is not recommended in the following cases:

The skin at or near the point is flaky or blistered.
An open wound at or near a point.
Rash at or near this point.
Redness, swelling, fever, or pus at or near the point.

How to find a massage point P-6

To find the P-6 massage point:

Position your hand so that your fingers are pointing up and your palm is facing you.
Place the first 3 fingers of your other hand on your wrist (see picture 1). Your fingers should be just below the crook of your wrist.
Place your thumb just below your index finger. Remove 3 fingers from your wrist, but leave your thumb in place (see Figure 2). Press on this place with your thumb. Under the thumb, you should feel 2 large tendons (tissue that connects muscles to bones). This spot between the two tendons is the P-6 massage point.
- Once you have found the massage point, you can relax your hand and keep it in a comfortable position.