The Morning Sickness Myth

When I got pregnant with baby number one, I remember having a few fleeting weeks of not feeling pregnant at all; obviously there was no bump to be seen but also, I didn’t have any morning sickness. Not even a hint of it. And though I kind of dreaded that part of my pregnancy, I was a little bit gutted that I wasn’t feeling like more than half of us women usually do. I almost expected my GP to tell me I wasn’t really pregnant at all – I’d just eaten some bad sushi or something.

And then I got to week seven. For anyone that hasn’t had morning sickness, your day kind of goes like this: wake up feeling nauseous, forgo usual toast and jam for plain toast, pack essential (read boring) snacks for commute, hunt down nearest bread/pasta/rice based foods for lunch, (repeat again for supper) and avoiding any potential sick-inducing situations whilst you go about your day. The thing is, morning sickness isn’t just relegated to waking but more often than not lasts all day.
 
Though I would love to tell you what you can do to alleviate it and give some genuine solutions as to what really works, it really is all down to the individual. In fact, one recent study proved that typical remedies (anything from ginger tea to acupuncture) had little effect. So below I’ve popped some of my go-to morning all-day sickness tips; let me know what you think and what worked for you.

What Helped Me

• I rarely wanted to eat first thing in the morning but sometimes, just nibbling on some oatcakes or plain biscuits kept by my bed warded off any nauseous feelings for a bit.
• I found plain water hard to drink so added cordial to it to help me keep hydrated. My midwife also suggested ice lollies – and actually, the coldness seemed to work too.
• My day-to-day diet is carbohydrate-low but during my first (and second pregnancy) all I wanted was bread, rice and pasta. Eat what you like. Don’t worry about it.
• Ginger tea/biscuits/sweets didn’t work for me. However, my other half got me a little tin of barley sugar sweets and I’m sure they helped. Worth giving them a go.
• I couldn’t stand perfumed products or just perfume in general. Try switching your usual products for fragrance-free options if you’re sensitive to scents.
• Snack A Jacks in Salt & Vinegar. I loved these with both pregnancies and I’m sure they warded off the nausea, if only for a little bit. I found anything salty helped – anything sweet I couldn’t really stomach.