Morning sickness is a difficult facet of pregnancy, so it is not surprising that suffering women often seek out treatment options. According to the Mayo Clinic, morning sickness affects 50 to 90 percent of women. Symptoms include nausea, with or without vomiting, that can occur at specific times of day or all day long. Home care is the first line of treatment for morning sickness; however, with severe symptoms, drug therapies are available.
Significance
Morning sickness does not have a specific cause, but changing hormones probably play a key role, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most women experience morning sickness only in the first trimester, but it can last throughout pregnancy. Morning sickness is not dangerous in most cases, but extreme morning sickness, called hyperemesis gravidarum, requires special care and is suspected if a woman cannot retain fluids or food, becomes underweight and experiences fainting or dizzy spells.
Food Modification
Conventional wisdom says not to snack in bed, but this does not apply to a nausea-stricken pregnant woman. Instead, these women should eat soda crackers or toast first thing in the morning and a small snack at bedtime to reduce morning sickness symptoms. Eating foods that contain ginger, like ginger cookies or ginger lollipops, can also help. Avoid an empty stomach, which can worsen morning sickness, by eating small meals throughout the day and drinking plenty of fluids. Fatty and salty foods can exacerbate morning sickness, too, so avoid these foods and instead have high-protein, high-complex carbohydrate snacks, like apples and nuts. Bland foods like ginger ale and saltine crackers can also lessen a wave of nausea.
Lifestyle Changes
A good idea is to keep track of triggers that worsen morning sickness symptoms. Then report these findings to your doctor so she can better form the course of therapy. Keep the air around you clean and flowing by avoiding smoke and opening windows to remove stagnant air and aggravating odors. Find an acupuncturist experienced with pregnant women, as acupuncture can provide morning sickness relief, according to the National Institutes of Health. Acupressure bands worn around the wrist and found at pharmacies or boating stores also help relieve symptoms in some pregnant women.
Vitamins
Vitamin B6 is the go-to vitamin most doctors will recommend to reduce morning sickness. Increase vitamin B6 intake with a supplement or by eating more beans, peas, grains and nuts. Taking a prenatal vitamin at nighttime versus morning time can also help since women often complain of nausea after taking this pill. If this doesn't help, consider a prenatal vitamin that contains no iron, but talk to your doctor first.
Drug Therapies
Drug therapy is best implemented only as a last resort to treat morning sickness. You and your doctor can decide if your symptoms are too daunting to handle with home remedies alone and if drugs are necessary. Sometimes over-the-counter antihistamine, reflux and nausea drugs can help relieve morning sickness. Again, close discussion and collaboration with your doctor, even for over-the-counter medications, is necessary. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in chemotherapy patients, but many pregnant women have found relief with it as well. It requires a doctor's prescription and is expensive, and insurance companies may not cover its use for morning sickness. For women suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, hospitalization and IV fluid and drug administration are usually required. Droperidol is often the IV administered drug as it quickly helps keep fluids and food down.
