There are many good reasons to consume yogurt routinely, and even more reasons to do so when you're pregnant. However, though yogurt has a number of health benefits, it isn't one of the places you should turn to help you alleviate the symptoms of morning sickness because it doesn't affect pregnancy-related nausea.
Morning Sickness
Morning sickness, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What To Expect When You're Expecting," is the result of skyrocketing hormone levels in early pregnancy. While some women experience the queasiness all through their pregnancies, most find that their nausea tapers off as they get used to the higher hormone levels, generally around the 13th week of pregnancy. In the meantime, however, morning sickness can be quite uncomfortable and more than half of all pregnant women experience it.
Yogurt
Yogurt's health benefits stem dually from the fact that it's a dairy product and contains healthy protein and calcium and that it's made with beneficial bacteria. While all women benefit from protein and calcium, you especially need them during pregnancy, as you're providing for a second -- and fast-growing -- human being. The probiotic bacteria in yogurt help promote digestive health and also prevent yeast infections, which are more common during pregnancy, explain Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book "You: Having A Baby."
Morning Sickness Aids
Beneficial though yogurt is, it's no cure for morning sickness. The best way to help alleviate your symptoms -- there's no way to treat morning sickness except to wait for it to pass on its own -- is to make sure you keep your blood sugar stable. Morning sickness seems to strike when blood sugar falls, so a snack first thing -- before you even get out of bed -- can work wonders.
Considerations
While there are common guidelines regarding alleviating the symptoms of morning sickness, every woman is different. You might find that yogurt by itself, with fruit, or in a shake is just the thing to help keep the morning nausea at bay. If you personally benefit from yogurt -- or crave it -- you can enjoy it knowing that it's also good for you and your developing baby. Be sure your yogurt is pasteurized, however -- as all commercially processed yogurt in the U.S. is -- to prevent dangerous food poisoning.
References
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
