Nausea & Vomiting

Nausea and vomiting usually start around the sixth week of pregnancy. Although these symptoms are often called “morning sickness,” they can occur at any time of day or night. About half of the women who experience nausea and vomiting feel complete relief around 14 weeks. For others, it takes another month or so for the queasiness to ease up. It may return later, though, and come and go throughout pregnancy. Until the nausea and vomiting go away, there are a few things you can do to ease them:

• Take a supplement: Vitamin B6 is known to help relieve nausea in some women. Your health care provider may recommend a combination of vitamin B6 and an over-the-counter medication called doxylamine. Talk to your provider before taking any medication, including vitamins.
• Keep snacks by the bed: Try eating dry toast or crackers in the morning before you get out of bed to avoid moving around on an empty stomach.
• Drink fluids: Your body needs more water in these early months, so drink fluids often during the day.
• Avoid smells that bother you: Foods or odors that may have never bothered you before may now trigger nausea. Do your best to stay away from them.
• Eat small and often: Make sure your stomach is never empty by eating five or six small meals each day. Try the “BRATT” diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and tea), which is low in fat and easy to digest.
• Try ginger: Ginger ale made with real ginger, ginger tea made from fresh grated ginger, and ginger candies can help settle your queasy stomach.

Severe Morning Sickness

Up to 2 percent of women who have morning sickness have a severe form called hyperemesis gravidarum. No one knows what causes this condition. It has been suggested that women carrying more than one baby (twins, triplets or more) are more likely to have severe nausea and vomiting than women carrying a single baby.

If you can’t keep any food or fluids down for more than a day or are becoming dehydrated, call your health care provider. You may be given medication to help control your nausea and vomiting. If you have a severe case of hyperemesis gravidarum, you may need to stay in the hospital for a short time and receive fluids intravenously.