by Pam Thompson

Created on: October 28, 2009

Nausea or "morning sickness" during the first and early second trimester can be one of the most unpleasant aspects of pregnancy. It is a myth that morning sickness only occurs in the morning, for many women it is an all day long ailment.

There is no sure fire way to prevent this nausea, but there are some ways to help ease the effects.

*Eat more often: It may not seem logical to eat more during a time when you feel so uncomfortable, but actually, eating several small meals can help relieve nausea. Eating before you feel bad can help keep impending morning sickness at bay.

*Avoid trigger foods: Trigger foods will vary from woman to woman, but eventually you will come to know which foods trigger nausea. Sadly, these may have been your favorite foods at one time, and you may have to forgo them for a few months, or even the entire nine months. Common trigger foods include spicy foods, tomato based sauces and dairy foods.

*Eat more protein: Protein dense foods tend to keep morning sickness at bay. You may find that you crave more meat or eggs or cheese.

*Throw diet rules out the window: Many pregnancy guides prescribe a rather rigorous, if not daunting, diet for pregnant women. While these dietary guidelines are well-meaning, they may add to the stress that an already worried mother-to-be is feeling. Combine this worry with a queasy stomach and the inability to keep down nutritious foods and you have a mother headed for malnourishment. The best advice for this time period is to eat whatever tastes good and stays down. Sometimes this means a diet of milkshakes and candy bars for a month or so. Once you are feeling better you can adjust your diet to include more nutrient rich foods.

*Don't underestimate your prenatal vitamin: Prenatal vitamins are important, as both you and the baby growing within you need many more nutrients during pregnancy. However, the iron in prenatal vitamins is likely to add to stomach upset. Keep track of when you feel sick. If your nausea begins shortly after taking a vitamin, consider first changing the time you take your vitamin, often after a meal and before bedtime works better. Or, if the vitamin is the culprit any time that you take it, talk to your physician about taking a vitamin without iron or switching to a children's chewable vitamin.

*Get enough rest: Fatigue contributes to nausea and morning sickness, try not to overdo things in these first few months.

*Candy can be your friend: Eating spicy ginger candies or sucking on sour hard candies can help alleviate nausea. Talk to your friends about candies that helped them through this time, they may even have some left overs that they will be willing to pass your way, so you can try to see what will work for you.

*Drink some tea: Ginger and herbal teas can help ease nausea in pregnancy. Make sure you check with your healthcare provider that the tea you choose is safe for pregnancy.

*Ask your doctor for help: If all else fails, check with your obstetrician. He may have some prescription or over the counter remedies that helped ease nausea in his other patients.

The good news about nausea in pregnancy is that it is not a permanent condition. In most women, it clears up around 12 weeks after your last menstrual periods, though it may last longer, especially in twin or higher level multiple pregnancies. Although this is far from a pleasant time, it will give you a connection to pregnant women from all over!

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