One of the most common early symptoms of pregnancy is morning sickness, which is nausea and vomiting that can take place at any time of day. Most of the time, morning sickness resolves on its own at the end of the first trimester. During the early months of your pregnancy, eating small amounts of bland foods often might help relieve and reduce your nausea.
What to Eat
Especially during the early months of pregnancy, you might not be able to eat spicy or heavy foods without feeling nauseated or vomiting. Stick to bland foods such as toast or crackers when you feel sick. Sucking on hard candy, especially sour candies such as lemon drops, can help relieve nausea, as can sniffing lemons or drinking lemonade. Eating watermelon also might help, or try sipping ginger ale or drinking ginger tea, both of which might relieve nausea.
How to Eat
It is best to avoid eating large amounts or allowing yourself to get too hungry, as either of these can cause nausea and vomiting. If you feel nauseated when you get up, try keeping plain crackers by your bed to eat upon waking. If you can, have someone else cook if food odors exacerbate your nausea. The American Pregnancy Association recommends drinking fluids before or after meals, but not with food.
Supplements
It is important that you take a prenatal vitamin supplement containing folic acid, as this reduces your baby's risk of having a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida. Your prenatal vitamin also contains other vitamins and minerals that you need during pregnancy. If it makes you feel nauseated, try taking it at night or with food. Taking a vitamin B-6 supplement might help reduce nausea, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. The recommended dosage is 30 mg daily, but you should not take this or any other supplements during pregnancy without the advice of your health care provider.
When to See the Doctor
Sometimes normal morning sickness gets severe enough to warrant medical care. This condition is called hyperemesis gravidarum. If you vomit excessively and cannot keep any food down or if morning sickness persists past the 13th week of pregnancy, call your doctor. If your vomiting is accompanied by a fever, it might be caused by a bacterial or viral infection and should be reported to your doctor. You might need to see a nutritionist if nausea or vomiting interferes with your ability to eat a balanced diet.
