Off-the-Beaten-Track Tips for Battling Morning Sickness

A few extra ideas beyond the tired old ginger-and-carbohydrates mantra.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

A quick google search of “ways to combat pregnancy nausea” will turn up a tried-and-true list that includes eating small meals, taking your vitamins on time, drinking ginger tea, chewing saltine crackers, and asking your provider about baby-safe medication. These are all great ideas, but you’ve probably heard them before! Here are a few more options from a mom who’s survived two brutally nauseating first trimesters and lived to tell the tale.

Lie on your stomach

This won’t be possible forever, so don’t get too accustomed to it — but if everything in this pregnancy goes according to what people have been telling you, the morning sickness won’t last forever either. If you have a few moments to lie down, do so in what medical professionals call the “prone” position. Putting gentle pressure on your abdomen can help to suppress feelings of nausea, and lying still can keep food from coming back up. Pros: it’s pretty comfortable. Cons: you can’t do much from this position except sleep. Pros: you should be sleeping as much as you can anyway, so get some shut-eye while you have the chance.

Don’t sit in the passenger seat

If you are driving with another adult, ask to be the driver if at all possible. Even if you weren’t susceptible to carsickness before you became pregnant, it’s quite likely that the repetitive motion of riding in a car will trigger more feelings of queasiness. Being the person in the driver’s seat (and having full, constant control of the car) can go a long way toward keeping your snacks stationary (even when you aren’t). Use some tact while bringing up this topic, though — your carpool companion may not take kindly to an insinuation that their driving is making you sick.

Drive with the windows down

No matter who’s behind the wheel, riding in a closed car (even with air conditioning going full blast) can begin to make your head and stomach spin. Opening the windows at least a crack when it’s safe to do so (and when the weather is clement — use your common sense and don’t invite a hurricane into your Honda) and…