Do you suffer from morning sickness during pregnancy? Here are lots of ideas to help you out with the nausea and get you functioning normally.
Help Me BCP!
I love BCP! I have a suggestion – an article about dealing with morning sickness.
I don’t have any ideas but awareness is so important! I suffer terribly and most people that don’t really don’t understand. I would love it we could start some sort of initiative to help families out there when the mom is suffering. In all honesty, I need more help now than I do after the baby!
While we would love to be able to send a nanny to your door to help you out, instead we took a more practical approach and asked Between Carpools readers for their advice and they sent us tons! Hope this helps! So if you find yourself asking “how can I stop feeling nauseous during pregnancy?” — we’ve got some tips for you.
*Ice cold water with a squeeze of lemon first thing in the morning really helped with my morning sickness.
*With one of my pregnancies, a cup of cold Nestea first thing in the morning did the trick. Don’t ask how or why! Maybe it was the sugar. It’s not the healthiest option, but it worked for me!
*Someone on my North Woodmere chat suggested putting an ice pack on throat/neck, Said it helps!
*When I became pregnant with my 4th, my nutritionist told me to have a protein (anything, even a tiny bit, if it’s all you can stomach) every two hours until the nausea stage passes. I basically had half of a cheese stick and a few pretzels every two hours, and I felt a real difference from my other pregnancies. It’s something to do with the speed at which our blood sugar drops. Apparently a sudden drop is what causes nausea. Eating protein like crackers and peanut butter right before bed may help nausea in the a.m.
*Morning sickness wrist pressure bands have helped some woman including myself.
*Snacking on light carbs the minute I wake up has helped me.
*A Shaklee vitamin called “Stomach Soothing Complex” has helped my pregnancy nausea. I took two whenever I felt nauseous. I would also smell peppermint oil. Sometimes I would do one, sometimes both. Essential oils should be of good quality. Just apply 1 drop into the palm of your hand, rub it, and smell it deeply for a few minutes.
*Eat something dry first thing in the morning.
*Eat right away when waking up. Something light. Like a rice cake.
*When I had morning sickness, the pharmacist recommended I have cucumbers and almonds. Some have recommended travel sickness bands.
*Ginger ale. Apparently the bubbles and flavor help settle your stomach (it doesn’t work for everyone though).
*Popsicles in fresh flavors like lemon and strawberry helps with nausea and dehydration. Make sure that whatever you eat will potentially taste good on its way up (avoid spicy foods that burn).
*I had morning sickness for 8 months during 2 pregnancies. What helped the most were sour candies (like gummy bears and sour sticks), eating something salty immediately when I got up (my doc told me to keep crackers or pretzels on my night table), and eating small meals very often. Can’t say it got rid of it, but it definitely helped.
*The best tip my doctor gave me was to carry a bag of nuts with me wherever I go. Even if I don’t feel hungry, I should make sure to eat a handful of nuts or dried fruit every hour. When your stomach has nourishment, it really helps to curb nausea. Unsalted almonds and hot tea got me through my first trimester.
About Medications That Combat Nausea:
Many, many of you wrote in to tell us about the drug called Diglesis. Depending on how severe the nausea is, it might not get rid of it completely, but it still helps tremendously. Although it doesn’t work for everyone and may cause drowsiness (as noted below; the doxylamine component is an antihistamine very similar to Benadryl), lots of you told us that it “works wonders” and completely changed their lives during pregnancy. You’ll need a prescription. Here’s more info:
“I’m a pharmacist. While in school I was constantly learning about the risks associated with exposing many different types of drugs to the fetus, and therefore did a ton of research before agreeing to take any drugs during pregnancy, even though I had terrible morning sickness during my first pregnancy and was truly desperate. I came across the research on the combination of doxylamine/pryridoxine.
This regimen has been around since the 1950s, before the thalidomide crisis, before the FDA starting cracking down on the use of drugs in pregnancy. Therefore there is a multitude of data available on the long-standing effects of use of this drug combination during pregnancy. It was one of the few drugs out there that was considered Category A in the old risk classification system, in large part due to the ethical problems with testing drugs in pregnant women with the standards that we have now.
Once I looked into the safety behind it, I was comfortable using it. And for me, it worked really well. It takes away nausea completely. However, one of the most common side effects is that it makes the user very drowsy. Although I felt a lot better while using it, it definitely impeded my productivity.
Doxylamine/pyridoxine is available under several brand names. One of them is Diclegis. I took that one too, I think it’s the first one that came out in 2013. Another brand I hear it is available under now is Dicletin.
Diclegis is expensive, but for those who suffer from morning sickness often, you can get the best price when ordering 60 pills.
I just feel very strongly that there is a lot more safety data available on Diclegis versus other drugs people use for morning sickness, like Zofran, so Diclegis is a much better option and should definitely be tried first.” -Pharmacist L.H.
Please note: There are some that suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum which is severe morning sickness. More information and support can be provided here http://www.helpher.org/.
Yes! Not enough people speak about this. I just went through a pregnancy having HG, and at times, I thought I was crazy. Maybe I was blowing it out of proportion… maybe I wasn’t so sick… maybe I am able to eat today, when in reality, I was terribly sick, and dehydrated.
I spent my first trimester on IV to stay hydrated and took zofran (nausea medication) for most of my pregnancy, to help me stop losing weight.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum is a real medical condition that surpasses typical morning sickness. If someone is pregnant and can’t stop loosing weight, can’t keep any food or drink down, can’t function due to dibilitating nausea eac. please speak to your doctor about your options.
I totally understand you!!! I had the same this like you. It was awful and the hardest part is people not understanding you. They think if I would just take a pill or drink or eat I would fe better. I wasn’t able to eat or drink. On IV all the time. So sorry you went through it. So hard.
I suffer with severe h g with all my pregnancies I have taken zofran with all of them and other anti emetics . I am part of two support groups for frum women with h g and I’m an hg volunteer for the HER foundation . If anyone needs to reach out to me I can be reached at Henniegoldstein@gmail.com
If paying for Diclegis is not an option, my doctor recommended a sleeping pill together with Vitamin B6 (basically the same ingredients, a fraction of the price). I felt more comfortable taking this combination than Zofran (which, by the way, also may cause constipation- another thing we definitely don’t need while going through tough time!) Though it’s not always effective for me, it does provide some sort of relief and I do wake up feeling like a human. I think the key to surviving morning sickness is to take advantage of the “good” moments and eat small, nutritious meals and stay hydrated (Powerade works for me!). It’s so hard when you are trying to keep your good news a secret but also want to scream to the world- “Help! Take a kid or 2 off of my hands and make us some supper!” (No chicken or meat of course ????) Good luck, this is not an easy time but be”H you will will have a beautiful baby at the end of the road. B’shaah Tova ❤️
Vitamin B6 changed my life!! Diclegis unfortunately did not work for me.
I took Vitamin B6 and Unisom during last pregnancy and it did not help. All it did was give me bad side effects. I was so drowsy and shaky. I thought it was the same thing as Diclegis so did not bother trying. This time I was desperate and tried Diclegis. It worked really well bh! Still some yucky feeling but not constant nausea. First day, it made me so drowsy, I couldn’t function, but my body got so used to it. Now I drive, go to work, no problem when taking it. Good luck everyone, bshaa tovah.
My doctor also recommended the sleeping pill- Unisom has the same.drug as diclegis, for fraction of the price. Taken with B6, literally saved my life!
I have also heard that Unisom does wonders for morning sickness, even tho it’s meant as a sleeping pill.
my doctor had already put me on Zofran since I couldn’t keep down anything- not even water- and I asked him if I should try taking Unisom instead.
He agreed to let me try, although his opinion was that it won’t help too much… it ended up being a terrible mistake to try. I had to stop taking Zofran, cuz you can’t take both at once. and once I was off Zofran, I became so dehydrated (although I only missed one dose!) that I had to be on IV to replenish all the fluid I had lost in that one day.
please, everyone, be careful, only do and try such things under a doctor’s guidance- for your and your baby’s health.
Also would recommend leaving Bounce sheets around your nightstand and “problem” areas to help with the smells that trigger nausea.
I had a whole bunch of horribly nauseous pregnancies.For whatever reason being in someone else’s house was always better. For my older kids I’d often go to my Mom’s. Her house didn’t “smell” Sometimes I could drink seltzer and sometimes Snapple. Lemon helped a little but I was afraid for my teeth.Sometimes I could keep down cake. 7-8 months! When my daughter was suffering from infertility I was grateful I hadn’t taken any drugs. Things happen and I didn’t want to wonder if I gave them a problem that lasted much longer than 8 months bc I didn’t want to suffer the wondering if it could have been the drugs….I had this with 7 pregnancies. I did not have a housekeeper and usually had a child home with me but we didn’t have the money to get someone in. Mom’s will do anything for their kids!Knowing there is a finite e d kept me going. I always felt better after I gave birth than before
Thank you for bringing awareness to this subject! I feel traumatized from my last pregnancy (my 3rd) I was bed ridden for 4 months due to nausea and vomiting. None of the standard advice worked for me and I was too afraid to take drugs. It had a huge emotional effect on me aswell because I wasn’t able to take care of my other kids and be there for them which made me feel guilt ridden and very depressed. It’s so important for people to understand that for some women the hardest part of having kids can be the pregnancy.
Yes!!!! The guilt of being so horribly sick that you can’t take care of your kids is so REAL!
Motion sickness wrist bands, vitamin B6, and Preggie Pops (the candies are somewhat helpful, but the lollipops are best).
Just to be aware, some people suffer from severe vomiting and need to take Zofran to function. Studies have shown that it’s safe to take.
Hey! I just wanted to update your information. Studies have shown that use of Zofran in early pregnancy may cause birth defects. The current clinical recommendation is either reglan or diclegis.
I know more than one person who took it due to hg and kids are 100% fine. SO if you are Desperate and not functioning….. ask Your DR obviously…
Not enough for HG I’m sure, but I took liquid vitamin B6 drops and it helped considerably. The pills weren’t enough, had to be the liquid form.
I found this post so interesting, coming to the end of what was a pretty hard pregnancy in terms of nausea. I can’t pinpoint anything that worked over another and definitely made some not such good food choices…
What is so fascinating and beautiful are the comments of what people have gone thru during pregnancy to bring a child into this world, and another and another with such horrible nausea and weakness! Kol hakavod to all yiddeshe mamas out there! We don’t give ourselves enough credit…!
Love this message. So true!
thanks for the boost!
Cool thing about diclegis- it’s actually one of the few drugs that are catergory A in pregnancy (proven not to be harmful). It was originally mixed with a medication that was causing serious birth defects in children and was thought to be the culprit but it was tested extend and found to be a completely safe component while the other medication was taken off the market. Most medications are not tested because it’s unethical so they usually fall into catergory B or lower.
Another great option for nausea is preggie pops or drops. Little candies that come in different flavors and are chock full of vitamin b6, one of the components of diclegis that abates nausea. They are kosher (star k if I’m not mistaken) and can be found on amazon or the preggie pop website.
The drug components of Diclegis, doxylamine/pyridoxine, were not “originally mixed with a medication that was causing serious birth defects”. Doxylamine/pyridoxine were available under the brand name Benedictin in combination with dicyclomine, another anticholinergic. There is no consistent data associating dicyclomine with birth defects; dicyclomine is currently rated Pregnancy Category B.
Benedictin, as a 3-drug combination containing doxylamine/pyridoxine/dicyclomine, was approved by the FDA in 1956. Later, studies were performed that evaluated each drug individually. No benefit was shown from the use of dicyclomine. Benedictin was thus reformulated without dicyclomine in the 1970s, but continued to be available under the same brand name.
I point this out to clarify that there has, at no point, been any proven association between birth defects and any of the drugs that were available as components of Benedictin.
I was just pregnant and I had constipation a lot will this work??
During my last pregnancy, neither diclegis nor unisom and b6 helped me as much as the Dramamine pills that are specifically for Nausea and morning sickness. Dramamine-N. They really work and don’t need to be taken often! Someone at Sunshine pharmacy recommended it and it was the best thing to know.
Hi. Do you need to take them on a fu.l stomch?
Also, how many times and when per day?
Thank you!
You can get bonjesta (basically diclegis) from a pharmacy canned transition pharmacy in Pennsylvania for $1.50 a pill.
I know this sounds basic but the thing that made the biggest difference to me was going to sleep on time. I could clearly see the effect even one late night had.
Yes me too! When I stayed up late nausea was much worse.
I know from experience when I had morning sickness all day and night for 9 months for all 4 of my kids. And then a dr mentioned pickled ginger and ginger candy from trader joes in my last pregnancy was a total game changer for me!!!
I’m in my second trimester and I have been suffering from hg. I tried tons of different medications including zofran and I also tried adding ginger to my diet to help combat the nausea but it all didn’t work the only relief I found were the sea bands, they literally are a lifesaver.
Thank you for this article and including mention of medication for severe cases such as HG. There have been a lot of comments about medication on here so I don’t want to repeat anything. I just want to mention that Diclegis/Bonjesta or Unisom w/ B6 need to build up in your system for it to be effective. It usually takes about 2 weeks. I also want to mention that even other meds such as Zofran, Phenergan, etc. can work quicker you do need to stay on top of the nausea and vomiting cycle. So if you have HG and are going in a downward spiral taking them sooner rather than later will help come out of it instead of waiting until you can’t keep anything down (at which point you will most likely need IV fluids and medication).
Acupuncture worked wonders for my pg nausea. I saw improvement after the 4th session and by the 6th it was completely gone BH! I followed up once a week until my 6th -7th month and it never came back. I cannot recommend this enough!
Hi. Does anyone have any info on the kashrus of “Shaklee stomach soothing complex”?
On amazon it says that they are not kosher.
If anyone knows Please reply!!
When I went for a kallah consultation with my daughter the midwife spoke about how vitamin deficiency is one of the big causes of HG and how important it is for teenagers and women in childbearing years to make sure they’re not deficient.
For those of you saying that help from others would be best:
I live in Ramat Eshkol and we have an INCREDIBLE organization here called anonymous but not alone
They make dinners and shabbos for women in their first trimester who are too sick to cook
Personally, I was so sick that I didn’t even let my husband open the kitchen door because I could smell the food and it made me throw up.
ABNA cooked me dinner 3 times a week (all volunteers– a spreadsheet goes out with the menu and people sign up for different things)
All food is dropped off at one persons house and my husband would pick it up from there.
Everything was bought on one persons account at the grocery store, and when I was finished recieving meals, I called up the grocery store and paid the bill, so it was free for all volunteers.
ABNA had me choose my own menu so that I could choose things that *maybe* I would actually be able to eat and that I wouldn’t throw up from the smell.
For example:
On Mondays I recieved Ziti and a blended veggie soup (zucchini, potato leak, etc)
On Tuesday I got meatballs and rice/spaghetti
etc
And noone knew who I was except for the coordinator
Here is their description:
Anonymous But Not Alone – are you in the beginning of a pregnancy and no one knows? is your home falling apart? are you so nauseous? can you use help? do you know someone in this situation? call anonymous but not alone now for yourself or on your friend’s behalf. we have loads of volunteers waiting to help and tons of food to send to you. After the initial call we will do our utmost to respect and protect your anonymity or have someone call on your behalf) To volunteer your help or to start a branch in your neighborhood please cal
If anyone wants to start this in their own community, to me it was a LIFESAVER!
Wow this sounds gorgeous, does anyone know of an organization or support group in brooklyn that does something similar to this?
Mi keamcha
There are some homeopathic remedies which really help with nausea in pregnancy. You can ask you’re local health food store for more info…
Can you give some examples please?
I suffered from real bad morning sick most of my pregnancies. My most recent one I had a weird thing. As soon as I found out I was pregnant and I went off sugar since I usually broke out with a terrible yeast infections beginning of my pregnancy. I was off sugar for about 3 months. I was not nauseous at all. (Which make me nervous that maybe something is wrong with my pregnancy -previous experience )
I started eating sugar again and all off a sudden the nausea was back full force. It took me a while to connect the dots but I went off sugar again and was fine. Something I would definitely try next time.
I have morning sickness all my pregnancies. I noticed that when I don’t eat starch, basically protein vegetables and fruit, my nausea went away.
The thing that helped the most for me was to not get an empty stomach. Every time I would wake up in middle of the night, I ate as many multigrain cheerios as I could (the balance between sweet and not sweet that worked best for me) and a sip of water. sometimes it would only be 5 cheerios. Doing this made it that waking up in the morning was the best time of day with regards to nausea.
I also want to say that some people don’t realize that not everyone suffers the same during pregnancy. Don’t compare your family size with anyone for any reason.. As for me, the nausea not only takes a physical toll, but knowing that it’s not going away for many months takes a huge emotional toll on me. I become borderline abusive to my children because of the suffering. I feel bad that I will have a smaller family as a result of my pregnancy nausea but I don’t feel it’s right to mistreat my current family members for the sake of future ones.
Thank you, this is so informative. I didn’t have HG (BH!!) but I’m commenting just for all the women out there with typical pregnancies. I just had a baby, BH, and the thing that I found helped me the most was this: EAT. Whenever I was really nauseous, I would realize that I hadn’t eaten breakfast, etc. Yes, I did gain a little excess weight, but at least I wasn’t throwing up for 9 months straight!
Again, if you have HG and this is triggering you, please skip this comment.