Nausea during pregnancy is a common ailment. Three quarters of pregnant women suffer from this and a third of all pregnant women have to vomit occasionally or regularly. Nausea can occur in the first weeks of pregnancy and often persists until the end of the first trimester. But in a fifth of pregnant women it continues to occur to a greater or lesser extent throughout the pregnancy. How can you prevent nausea during pregnancy? And how can you alleviate it so that you don’t suffer too much from this common ailment?
What can you do about pregnancy sickness?
Although pregnancy sickness cannot be completely prevented, there are a number of things you can try to make it more bearable.
- First of all, it is important to eat easily digestible food. A rusk or a cracker when you wake up, or possibly while you are still in bed in case you already suffer from nausea when you wake up. Let the food sink for a moment and then get out of bed.
- Don’t eat and drink too much and not too quickly. This way you prevent your stomach from becoming overstimulated. You can try some small bites and sips, wait a while and if it goes well, take some more.
- To prevent nausea at night, you can eat an easily digestible snack, such as a liga or a cracker, before going to sleep. Again, try not to eat heavy meals before lying down. This way you prevent all undigested food from remaining in your stomach when you go to sleep.
- Drink mainly between meals and, to a lesser extent, during meals. This prevents your stomach from being too full and becoming overstimulated.
- Do not drink drinks that are too cold or too hot. Lukewarm water most closely matches your body temperature and will therefore cause less resistance from your stomach. Do not drink too large amounts at once.
- Ginger is said to be good for nausea and studies show that it can even reduce vomiting. In case of severe nausea, take dried ginger root and drink ginger tea every now and then.
- Lemon and peppermint also seem to help, perhaps because it has a fresh taste. So drink lemonade, mix it with salad and eat a mint or sour candy every now and then. There are even special pregnancy lollies for sale (preggy pops) that can relieve nausea.
- As a pregnant woman you are more aware of (nasty) odors. After cooking, make sure the house is well ventilated. All odors will then be gone and the house will smell nice and clean and fresh. This can prevent a feeling of nausea.
- Nausea can be caused by heartburn, which can occur when pressure on the stomach increases when the baby is sitting up. A simple Rennie can also provide relief and you can choose to raise your mattress a little on the side of your head, so that you lie slightly upright.
What should you avoid?
- Avoid salty, fatty and difficult to digest foods. You know the feeling of a ‘brick’ in your stomach when food is heavy. If you are already suffering from pregnancy sickness, it is better to focus on easily digestible and not too fatty food.
- Do not drink caffeinated drinks.
- Don’t eat too many foods that are fried or fried. Boiled and steamed is better.
- Avoid getting very hungry. You can do this by always having something with you that you can eat at any time, such as a league or a banana.
- Do not eat too much spicy food or food that contains many flavor enhancers. When you are pregnant, your body perceives all aromas and flavors much more intensely than normal and this can result in nausea.
- Smoking (or passive smoking) is not good for an unborn child in any case, but it also seems to cause nausea. Do not smoke yourself and try to avoid places where there is a lot of smoking.
Medicines that can reduce nausea
If the nausea becomes too bad or you vomit too much, a doctor can prescribe Emesafene, Cyclizine or Primparan. Emesafine is often the first choice and has been prescribed successfully for decades. It blocks the stimulation of the vomiting center, often works within 2 hours and the effectiveness lasts for about 8 hours. A disadvantage is that it can make you a bit sleepy. Cyclizine works in the same way, but the effectiveness is noticeable more quickly (within half an hour after taking it), but the effect is shorter (4 to 6 hours). It has the same side effect as Emesafene. Primperan works by stimulating metabolism so that food can be absorbed faster. In addition, it also prevents the vomiting center from quickly becoming overstimulated. Besides leading to drowsiness, it can also lead to constipation.
The influence of acupuncture
Acupuncture has been used for a long time as a treatment for morning sickness. Although not all studies can demonstrate the effect of acupuncture, some studies show that women who have had acupuncture treatment feel better than the women in the same study who have not had these treatments. Since many women benefit from acupuncture treatments, this may still be worth considering. Most health insurers (partially) reimburse the treatments of acupuncturists who are affiliated with the Dutch Association for Acupuncture (NVA). You can request more information about this from your health insurer.
