Eat well. A diet high in protein and complex carbohydrates can help combat queasiness. General good nutrition may help, too, so eat as well as you can (given the circumstances, that might not always be so easy).
Eat what you can. So the eating well thing isn’t working out so well for you? Right now, getting anything in your tummy—and keeping it there—should be your priority. There will be plenty of time later on in your pregnancy for eating a balanced diet. For the queasy moment, eat whatever gets you through the day (and night), even if it’s nothing but ice pops and gingersnaps. If you can manage to make them real fruit ice pops and whole-grain gingersnaps, great. If you can’t, that’s fine, too.
Drink up. In the short term, getting enough fluids is more important than getting enough solids—particularly if you’re losing lots of liquids through vomiting. If you’re finding liquids are easier to get down when you’re feeling green, use them to get your nutrients. Drink your vitamins and minerals in soothing smoothies, soups, and juices. If you find fluids make you queasier, eat solids with a high water content, such as fresh fruits and vegetables—particularly lettuce, melons, and citrus fruits. Some women find that drinking and eating at the same sitting puts too much strain on their digestive tract; if this is true for you, try taking your fluids between meals.
Get chilly. Experiment with temperature, too. Many women find icy cold fluids and foods are easier to get down. Others favor warm ones (melted cheese sandwiches instead of cold ones).
Switch off. Often, what starts out as a comfort food (it’s the only thing you can keep down, so you eat it 24/7) becomes associated with nausea—and actually starts to trigger it. If you’re so sick of crackers that
they’re actually beginning to make you sick, switch off to another comforting carb (maybe it’ll be Cheerios or watermelon next).
If it makes you queasy, don’t go there. Period. Don’t force yourself to eat foods that don’t appeal or, worse, make you sick. Instead, let your taste buds (and your cravings, and your aversions) be your guide. Choose only sweet foods if they’re all you can tolerate (get your vitamin A and protein from peaches and yogurt at dinner instead of from broccoli and chicken). Or select only savories if they’re your ticket to a less tumultuous tummy (have reheated pizza for breakfast instead of cereal).
Smell (and see) no evil. Thanks to a much more sensitive sense of smell, pregnant women often find once appetizing aromas suddenly offensive—and offensive ones downright sickening. So stay away from smells that trigger nausea—whether it’s the sausage and eggs your spouse likes to make on the weekends or the aftershave of his that used to make you head over heels (but now makes you head for the toilet). Steer clear, too, of foods that you can’t stand the sight of (raw chicken is a common culprit).
Supplement. Take a prenatal vitamin supplement to compensate for nutrients you may not be getting. Afraid you’ll have trouble choking the pill down—or keeping it down? Actually, that one-a-day can decrease nausea symptoms (especially if you take a slow-releasing vitamin that’s higher in quease-combating vitamin B
6
). But take it at a time of day when you are least likely to chuck it back up, possibly with a substantial bedtime snack. If your symptoms are particularly rough, ask your practitioner about taking extra vitamin B
6
, which can help relieve nausea in some women.
Tread gingerly. It’s true what the old wives (and midwives) have been saying for centuries: Ginger can be good for what ails a queasy pregnant woman. Use ginger in cooking (ginger- carrot soup, ginger muffins), steep it into tea, nibble on some ginger biscuits, nosh on some crystallized ginger, or suck on some ginger candy or lollipops. A drink made from real ginger (regular ginger ale isn’t) may also be soothing. Even the smell of fresh ginger (cut open a knob and take a whiff) may quell the queasies. Or try another trick of the queasy trade: lemons. Many women find the smell—and taste—of lemons comforting (when life gives you morning sickness, make lemonade?). Sour sucking candies are the ticket to relief for others.
Rest up. Get some extra sleep and relaxation. Both emotional and physical fatigue can exacerbate nausea.