Morning Sickness

By Victoria L. Freeman, PhD

GREEN—the very color symbolizes nature in all its resplendent glory. Feng shui proponents say it evokes hope and tranquility, but for millions of pregnant women, green (as in around the gills) describes the irrepressible nausea known as morning sickness. Although the exact cause of morning sickness eludes researchers, prime suspects include rapidly increasing estrogen and progesterone levels, an enhanced sense of smell, and excess stomach acids.

The term morning sickness misrepresents the condition, though, since it can strike any time of the day or night. In fact, only about a third of the women who experience it suffer just in the mornings, explains Miriam Erick, MS, RD, author of Managing Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women (Bull Publishing Company, 2004) and a senior clinical dietitian for The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Whether your nausea affects you all day or just at the breakfast table, these suggestions from Erick may soothe your queasy stomach. Tame the triggers. Common irritants include smells, motion, abrupt noise, climate changes, and bright lights. Suggestions: Skip perfume and ask people around you to do the same. Take the stairs to avoid motion sickness common with elevators and escalators. Find an alternative to startling alarm clocks. Dim lights whenever possible. Trust your cravings. “Many women opt for bland foods and drinks because they feel guilty about eating junk food. Meanwhile, they’re still sick,” says Erick. Her advice: Don’t dismiss your cravings. For the short-term, junk food that stays down does more good than something healthy that comes back up. But to ensure your future health and that of your growing baby, keep looking for wholesome foods you can tolerate. Go for the ginger. Used for centuries to treat nausea, ginger soothes spasms in the stomach and intestines and blocks stimulation of the brain center that triggers nausea. A standard dose consists of a 250-mg ginger capsule four times daily, according to Erick. Or if you want to get creative, try ginger jam, ginger lollipops (morningsick nesshelp.com), ginger tea, or crystallized ginger. Consider adding pressure. According to Erick, many women stay nausea-free with acupressure—in particular, stimulation of P6, an acupoint about 2 inches above the wrist crease on the middle inside of the forearm. Since good results may take more continuous pressure than you have patience for, consult an aucupressurist or try Sea-Bands, terry-cloth wristbands with a hard plastic “point” that applies continuous pressure to P6 (www.sea-band.com).

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