Pregnant women will experience the symptoms of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy which are normal. They usually occur in the first month until the first trimester but some pregnant women will experience the symptoms until the fourth month of pregnancy. However, few pregnant women may experience severe nausea and vomiting that may lead to dehydration and weight loss. In such event, getting help from health care providers will be necessary to obtain prompt management of the symptoms.
The exact cause of nausea and vomiting is currently not clear, but it has been associated with the sudden hormonal changes going on during pregnancy. It is believed that hormonal fluctuations may cause the smooth muscles of the stomach to contract and relax abnormally, which would lead to nausea and vomiting.
How to Manage Vomiting During Pregnancy Better
Changing your eating patterns
- For morning nausea, try eating unbuttered toast, cereal, crackers or other dry foods before getting out of bed.
- Eat cheese, lean meat or other high protein snack along with simple carbohydrates before bedtime to reduce swings in the blood sugar that may contribute to nausea. You may choose simple carbohydrates such as saltine or unflavored crackers, unbuttered toast, plain baked potatoes, white rice, gelatin desserts, broth, pretzels, popsicles, herbal or decaffeinated tea with sugar or non diet ginger ale.
- Sip fluids such as clear fruit juices throughout the day. Avoid drinking lots of fluids at one time, especially during meal time. Drink fluids between meals. This will help minimize nausea and vomiting.
- Avoid spicy and fatty foods, as well as those with strong odors that are bothersome. Eat foods that are cold or at room temperatures.
- Keep unflavored crackers at bedside in the event that you feel nauseated in the morning.
Taking vitamin supplements
- Some prenatal vitamins can worsen the symptom of nausea. If that is the case, try taking your prenatal vitamins with meals. If this does not help, you may refer to your health care provider and request to change the type of vitamin prescribed for your pregnancy.
- Some evidences suggest that taking Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) helps relieve nausea and vomiting. There are no known harmful effects with this supplement if taken at 25-50 mg every eight hours.
Taking over-the-counter medication
- Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) have been shown to improve nausea and vomiting with no known harmful effects in pregnancy. However, it would be best to discuss any medication that you should take with your health care provider.
These tips may help you in managing vomiting and nausea symptoms during pregnancy. In the event that vomiting turned out to be so severe that you can’t keep the fluids or foods down, contact your health care provider immediately. This can become a serious condition that may be caused by other underlying conditions that require medical treatment.
Reference:
Baby Center. Morning sickness (natural remedies). Retrieved on June 17,2014 from http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a549314/morning-sickness-natural-remedies