Mothers share how they coped with nausea in early pregnancy

MANY pregnant women become excited almost immediately, about the many joys that pregnancy brings — they anticipate thicker hair, glowing skin and of course the baby bump. Just in the same way, however, an equal number of women dread the onset of some pregnancy-related symptoms, among the most common being morning sickness.

Not to worry though, you don’t only have to find comfort in the fact that your queasiness is for a beautiful reason. Some mothers who have experienced mild to severe nausea have shared a number of methods they have used that may help to relieve your own symptoms.

Thalia, 32, paralegal:

When I was pregnant my morning sickness was so bad that I couldn’t get up out of bed. I couldn’t keep down anything and so I was weak and tired all the time. What definitely worked for me though was removing all scents and fragrances from my bedroom. I also got a humidifier which purified the air with mild peppermint essence. I also put a piece of ginger in my mouth whenever the feeling would come on and I ate only bland foods along with fruits since everything else would upset me.

Viveen, 39, housewife:

From my experience, I would say that the vomiting and the nausea were on a scale of about seven to eight for about 12 weeks and then again at the end of the final trimester. Since it was so hard keeping food down my husband would make sure that I always had fluids — so Supligen, water, Ensure, coconut water and natural juices — and then I would take my prenatal vitamins for support. I would still feel sick, but it would be less likely that I would throw up. To deal with feeling like I was going to faint, I would drink peppermint tea (from the actual plant because tea bags didn’t work for me), eat a peppermint sweet or sniff some fresh lemon which we have plenty of in the country.

Michelle, 34, business owner:

I did almost everything that I could to hide from morning sickness and while doing some of the things like choosing what to eat carefully, avoiding strong fragrances and resting, I still would feel like I couldn’t make it through the day. My doctor had to prescribe the anti-vomiting agent dimenhydrinate and steroids to control the vomiting and diarrhoea because morning sickness for me was almost like a 24-hour thing.

Valerie, 41, accountant:

I just followed my doctor’s recommendations, for example, I ate in small portions. If I realised that when I ate a particular food I would start feeling ill, I stayed away from it even when I was craving it and I always had a little stash of dried stuff like crackers, dried fruits and nuts so that I wouldn’t get hungry and also just to snack on so that I wouldn’t feel nauseous. I would also say don’t overeat because a lot of the times that is the reason why we feel sick. I was doing that at first because I wanted to make sure the baby was getting all his nutrients, but the doctor said that was actually contributing to the nausea.

Abigail, 24, teacher:

Ginger was my saving grace. Trust me I had everything containing ginger or I would add it — to crackers, tea, I would put it in my fruit juices, I would chew on it raw, because it was that good. I walked more when I could because I got sick when I travelled by car. I stopped jumping out of bed when I just woke up because I realised it made the morning sickness worse and this also applied even when I wanted to urinate in the middle of the night. And I also kept snacks on my nightstand. I don’t know how it affects others, but if I kept at least a little food at a time in my stomach I would feel better than if my tank was completely empty and then I refilled.