Many pregnant women suffer from sickness in pregnancy. It used to be called Morning Sickness but this was inaccurate as, although for many women the sickness may only happen in the morning, for others it can go on all day. Most women find that they return to normal after the first trimester. For others this condition can continue for various lengths of time and occasionally throughout their pregnancy.
How to control pregnancy sickness?
The important thing if you suffer from pregnancy sickness is to keep hydrated. If even this is impossible it may require hospitalisation. So what can you do to help? Pregnancy sickness can be worse in the morning because you have not eaten overnight, and women are often advised to eat a little and often, particularly to have a snack last thing at night and to have something to eat by your bed as soon as you wake up in the morning.
Sign up for our free resources and access your pregnancy sickness audio here.
The other advice that is given is to eat ginger because this can calm the digestive system, and zinc can also be helpful. A good source of zinc in your diet can be cashew nuts, eggs and pumpkin seeds. If you need something more P-5-P (Pyrodoxyl-5-Phosphate – a form of Vitamin B6) can be very effective and you can get this from a good nutritional company such as Metabolics.
Why do we get pregnancy sickness?
It is thought that it is a protective mechanism for the unborn baby because, when we were hunter gatherers, the mother might have eaten something that was dangerous to her baby so her digestive system threw it out before it could do any harm. There days, of course, our food is safe, but it takes evolution a long time to catch up with our modern lifestyle. It is still true that strong flavours can trigger sickness, which would support this theory. The good news is that the sickness stops when the baby is born.
Can audio relaxations help control the sickness?
In a recent podcast The Duchess of Cambridge described how she used hypnobirthing to help her cope with hyperemesis gravidarum, a very severe form of pregnancy sickness. She talks about the power of the mind and how it helped her during her pregnancy and giving birth to her children.
Katharine Graves has recorded a free audio to support you if you are suffering from any form of pregnancy sickness. The relaxations that KGHypnobirthing offers to help with this condition can be very effective. You can sign up for our free resources and listen to the pregnancy sickness audio here. We sometimes forget how powerfully the mind affects the body, and this is an example of how thankful we can be that this is the case.
What is the difference between normal pregnancy sickness and hyperemesis gravidarum?
Other Resources
Please visit the Pregnancy Sickness Support website for more information.
