Many pregnant women know “morning sickness” is a misnomer; nausea can last all day. The good news is it typically ends by the end of the first trimester. Morning sickness is caused by pregnancy hormones wreaking havoc with your system. Some people say morning sickness indicates a healthy pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean you should worry if you don’t have any. Every woman – and even every pregnancy — is different.

Babies Online collected the most effective morning sickness remedies posted by our community of readers. The best tip is to remember that all the symptoms of pregnancy will end soon and, when they do, you’ll have a beautiful baby. So on to the recommendations of the Babies Online community.

Morning Sickness Cures

• Rachel Price Lott – I always had a bad taste in my mouth, so I chewed cinnamon gum and it helped.

• Kimberly Colombo Mitchell – Don’t jump out of bed! Saltines and ginger ale on the nightstand before you even get up. Don’t brush your tongue when you brush your teeth…gag! Don’t let your stomach get too empty during the day…small snacks.

• Kristin MacDonald – Stay in bed till the afternoon ha ha. Nothing is helping me.

• Palesa Chula – I would drink water and have dry toast.

• Mary Chnapko – Peppermint candies, ginger, and stay away from Kool Aid… too much sugar! Oh, and sourdough pretzels helped a lot too, but there were days nothing helped….. blah

• Teresa O’Dell – Stepping outside for breath of fresh air always made mine go away

• Kimberly Stidham Dobbs – Hot Tamales candy and Big Red gum. Those were the only things that would help. I was sick for 4 months for all day long. I was so glad when I discovered these!

• Kristy Stevens – Keep saltines by the bed and eat one or two before getting up.

• Jennifer Sanchez – Those motion sickness bands!! They worked wonders for me!

• Emily Richards – I liked dried ginger.

• Melissa Ryall Haynie – Ginger candy… spicy hot, but suck on it slowly. Also ginger or peppermint tea… and right now a candy cane sucked on very slowly!

• Jacquelynne Rose Cook – Strawberries, peppermints and/or ginger ale seemed to help me with mine in all three of my pregnancies.

• Kristina Davis – Ginger ale, eating a big breakfast before taking my vitamin, and peppermints all helped during this pregnancy – things I wish I knew during my first.

• Tina Parker – Peppermints

• Shannon Taylor Katsara – My morning sickness was worse if I didn’t eat so I’d eat something very mild like oatmeal or some tea and toast and I’d feel much better.

• Bridgette Beaman – Sour candies helped my morning sickness. I ate sour patch kids ALL day with this baby up till week 19.

• Shanelle Patrice – ginger ale or sleep…

• Gabrielle Wolf-Stahl – a plain croissant with a hard boiled egg

• Danielle Williams – The ginger slices in sushi restaurants…I would stockpile them and carry the little cups in my purse.

• Beth Overla – Saltine crackers before actually getting out of bed. Make sure you have them in your room already!

• Desiree Olson – Preggy Pops, ginger ale, and ice cream. Not all together, but when one didn’t help the others did.

• Susan Estep – Preggy pop drops. You can get them in a maternity store. They are awesome! Saltine crackers and Ginger ale work also.

• Lois Du Preez – Sleep… ginger didn’t do the trick at all. Sleep was the only thing that helped me. But I think if I ate more frequently it would’ve helped a bit.

• Sarah Mall-Pavich – Punching my husband for doing this to me. HAHA!!!

Our community of readers answers all your baby-related questions! Look for Babies Online’s Question of the Week posted on our Message Boards, Twitter, MySpace and Facebook every Monday!

Morning sickness, also called pregnancy sickness, usually affects women in their first trimester of pregnancy. Some women however, are plagued with nausea and vomiting throughout their entire pregnancy. The symptoms can become severe enough to warrant medical intervention. According to information found online, there may be relief in sight for pregnant women trying to keep their morning sickness under control.

Reports indicate that a new study says that a drug called metoclopramide poses no risk to the baby if taken by the mother. Mention the words ‘morning sickness’ and ‘drugs’ in the same sentence and you are likely to invoke memories of what is referred to by some as the ‘Thalidomide tragedy.’ This drug had a number of uses, one of them being a remedy for morning sickness. Over 10,000 babies were born in 46 countries with deformities as a result of Thalidomide use.

This new study’s data incorporated almost 82,000 births in Israel. It looked at 3,458 babies born to women who used the drug. These children were compared to 78,245 babies whose mothers had not used it. According to the findings, there were no differences in problems experienced by newborns in either group. It is important to note that the study did not cover the effectiveness of the drug at alleviating morning sickness.

One doctor in the US, Dr. Keith Eddleman, director of obstetrics at Mount Sinai Medical Center, has already offered a view on this new study. He is quoted as saying, “I think that women will be comforted by this. Most women are reluctant just because of the stories they’ve heard and the perception that taking something in the first trimester can cause harm.”

Like me, many of you are probably not familiar with the drug metoclopramide. I am skeptical of this new study despite its seemingly promising results. I do hope however that this means that morning sickness will eventually be a thing of the past. If your morning sickness is not too severe, drinking tea, especially those with some ginger added, and eating plain crackers have been known to help. Eating small meals can also offer relief.

The way metoclopramide works is by causing the stomach to become empty quicker. It also relieves heartburn which seem to plague pregnant women. It does however have some side effects. These include insomnia, depression and sedation. This makes it even more important to be cautious if one is considering taking metoclopramide. Currently there are no drugs approved for dealing with morning sickness in the US. The study, which was headed by investigators at Ben-Gurion University, recently had its findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Have you ever heard of the word synergy?  Basically it means that 2 forces combine and the sum of their forces together is greater than the sum of their individual effects.  Cool word…sometimes.

This weekend, I had “pregnancy synergy”:  I got a virus which my toddler shared with me.  The synergy between the effects of my morning sickness and the effects of my virus was astounding.

With my first child, I had incredibly bad morning sickness.  For weeks, all I could keep down was jello, ginger ale, sherbet, crackers, broth, and pickles.  I assumed that this would work with this child.  This baby does not like jello or broth however.

I find myself worrying about this “little one”, although I know that probably he or she is OK.  Did I eat enough sherbet?  Am I drinking enough ginger ale?  It occurs to me that I am officially a mom.  I’m laying in bed too sick to get up and I’m worried about my baby who is just 10 weeks gestation.

I eventually phased out of the ginger ale and sherbet phase with my first child.  I’m sure that I’ll get over this bout of whatever and be able to eat normally again soon.

Just for the record, I did ask my doctor if my “diet” was ok.  Her advice:  do whatever works.  As long as it isn’t a long term diet, I should be ok.  If the extreme sickness last for more than a week, I need to check in.  If I can’t keep down any thing or any fluids, then I need to call immediately.

For now, I’m doing what works, and it’s ok.  I’m hoping that the effects of synergy don’t last too long!

I was hanging out at my house one day, and started feeling odd. It’s hard to define the feeling, but there was certainly something different. So I headed out to the drugstore and bought a pregnancy test.

I got home, peed on the stick, and was startled to see it turning pink. My dog had followed me into the bathroom, so she was the first to know. I’m pregnant! I told her. She responded in her doggy way, which was asking to go out. We went to the park, I wandered around after the dog in a daze while she chased sticks and ran around, then went home. Only then did it dawn on me that I should probably tell my husband. I blame being in shock.

I drove out to his office, and told him in the parking lot. He did a combination of disbelief, and excitement. I had to pee on two more sticks when he got home from work that evening before he finally believed it.

By that time, my shock had worn off and I was feeling quietly calm, serene, excitement and anticipation about having a baby. It was a good feeling that I was blessed to have kept all through my pregnancy.

I called my mom and dad, and my grandma. The original plan was to wait until the end of the first trimester before we told friends, but since I had morning sickness from hell, my pregnancy was obvious to anyone who spent any time with me, so everyone knew almost as soon as we did.

What did you do when you found out you were pregnant? How did you feel? And who were the first people you told?

Just when I thought I was out of the woods, it struck. That horrible, nothing sounds good to eat, nothing sounds good to drink, I think I?ll just lie down right here and wait for it to be over feeling also known as morning sickness. Except my morning sickness (as is the case with most) doesn?t seem to be able to tell time. It?s not morning sickness ? it?s afternoon sickness, or nighttime sickness, or any time of day sickness.

Turns out, a hormone surge that takes place in the third trimester (as well as the fact that your organs are all squished up to make room for your expanding uterus) can cause an increase in nausea, as well as indigestion, stomach shrinkage and a general feeling of un-wellness.

To deal with third-trimester morning sickness ? or morning sickness any time during your pregnancy ? find out what calms your tummy down and eat or drink it. It may be plain pasta, bread, a banana, ice water, or a greasy cheeseburger, but whatever sounds good is going to be the best thing for you. Eat small, frequent meals to avoid or decrease your chances of getting heartburn, indigestion or nausea.

In addition, try to find a juice, water or tea that tastes good to you and that will keep you hydrated. Ice water can be more soothing and easier to drink than room temperature water, and lemon water might be even better. Just be sure to drink small amounts at a time ?large quantities will end up making you feel sicker.

Other foods to try include citrus fruits, especially lemon or orange, or sucking on citrus flavored hard candy. Also try eating solid foods that are bland in taste and smell, and high in carbohydrates, such as pasta, crackers, mashed potatoes, or rice or pasta. Avoid anything with a strong smell or taste, such as garlic or many ethnic foods, as it may trigger more nausea. In addition, consider telling your family members or immediate coworkers about which foods make you nauseous; if they can, they might be able to alter their mealtimes or routines to avoid making you feel worse.

What foods or drinks help you when you are feeling morning sickness?

Most of us have morning sickness to some extent. It’s no fun whatsoever, but it usually goes away around the end of the first trimester, and is considered by many doctors to be a sign of a healthy, normal pregnancy.

But sometimes normal morning sickness becomes anything but. Fiona Shaw, a mom from Britain, was so ill with morning sickness that her doctors were forced to deliver her baby more than two months early. Her daughter, Tianna, weighed only 2lb 5oz. In the hospital, Tianna’s weight dropped to 2lbs, she had to fight several lung infections and be resuscitated repeatedly.

Fiona’s morning sickness – hyperemesis gravidarum to doctors – was so serious she could eat nothing but popsicles and perhaps half a cracker a day. It didn’t go away at the end of the first trimester either. By 28 weeks she had lost 50lbs and her baby was suffering too. Tianna wasn’t gaining weight and doctors diagnosed heart problems. The only way to save her was an immediate cesarean section.

Nine months later, both mom and baby are doing well. Tianna weighs a healthy 15lbs and Fiona has gained back most of the weight she lost while pregnant.

Fiona and Tianna are very rare. About 1 in 10,000 mothers experience morning sickness so badly they need medical intervention – usually hospital treatment for dehydration. Fiona’s case is an especially extreme one.

Morning sickness is a part of pregnancy for most moms. It’s uncomfortable and unpleasant but for almost all pregnant women, it will pass. But if you are pregnant, and concerned about morning sickness, talk to your doctor.

• Easing Morning Sickness
• More ways to ease morning sickeness
• There’s a reason for morning sickness… we think

In my previous blog, I talked about six ways to alleviate morning sickness. You may have noticed one time-tested method missing from my list: Ginger ale. The truth is, commercial brands of ginger ale are so loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and empty calories you’re better off avoiding them. Besides, the trace amounts of real ginger in these soft drinks is so small, it doesn’t help nausea. If you feel better from drinking supermarket ginger ale, it is probably the placebo effect brought on by memories of drinking it as a child when you had a belly ache.

If you want a real ginger cure, make your own ginger ale!

• 1 cup peeled, grated ginger (use a cheese grater)
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup honey
• 1 cup water
• 4 cups club soda
• Freshly squeezed juice of lime

In saucepan, bring 2 cups water and grated ginger to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

In separate saucepan, bring sugar, water, and honey to a boil until the sugar is dissolved to create simple syrup. Add lime juice.

Place metal strainer on top of simple syrup mixture and strain ginger pieces from water, combining ginger water and simple syrup into one saucepan.

Divide ginger ale mixture evenly into four glasses and add about one cup of club soda to each. (You can also make one serving now and save the rest for later, just reserve ginger ale mixture in a covered container and refrigerate.)

An additional benefit of homemade ginger ale? The very scent of the ginger boiling made me feel better! If you want a quick fix and don’t feel like waiting to prepare ginger ale, keep some fresh ginger simmering on your stove and inhale whenever you feel queasy. After preparing this tasty drink, the scent of ginger permeated the house and I felt better for about three days!

I haven’t posted in quite a while. Somewhere around Week 11 of my pregnancy, the constant nausea abated and some of my energy returned. However, in a cruel juxtaposition, my ‘nesting instincts’ kicked in around Week 10. For 7 days, I lied around, too exhausted to move, bemoaning the mess around me, concerned we’d never get the house babyproofed, and my child would be crawling around on floors teeming with dust mites.

When my energy came back, I limited my writing to ‘immediate deadlines’ and went on a cleaning spree!

I’m very fortunate that my morning sickness ended ‘right on schedule’ at the end of the first trimester. But I have heard rare cases of morning sickness lasting through Week 20 and beyond.

If this is happening to you, or you’re still suffering through that first trimester (it’s hard to believe, but it really does get better), here a few techniques that I found helped.

• Vitamin B6. My doctor gave me B-Natal lollipops and hard candy’a super-dose of B6 to help nausea. They taste pretty good, too.
• Eat! I felt a lot better when I kept something in my stomach at all times. I ate a small snack every two hours, and tried to have a decent dinner which, combined with a light snack or glass of milk before bed, helped me last through the night.
• Peppermints. Several pregnant women I know have found relief in sucking peppermints, such as Altoids. If you’re vomiting a lot, these will also help freshen your breath and get that taste out of your mouth.
• Seasickness bands. One of the few OTC remedies recommended for pregnant women, motion sickness bands worn around the wrists may help. By the time I found out about these, my first trimester was almost over, so I didn’t bother, but I’ve heard some moms-to-be say they helped.
• Avoid triggers. Horror movies, coffee, chocolate, the mention of alcoholic beverages, and, oddly, cartoon vomiting–the mere mention of these things made me dry heave. I have never been squeamish before, but my husband quickly learned I had to close my eyes at the sight of blood on TV. Warn your family about your ‘triggers’ so they can try to avoid them in your presence.
• Talk to your doctor. If your morning sickness is so bad you can’t function or are missing work more than is acceptable, talk to your doctor about prescription medications that may help.
• Don’t worry. Unfortunately, morning sickness is a normal part of pregnancy. It won’t hurt the baby, and neither you nor the baby will starve to death. Stay hydrated, and do your best to eat whenever you can. ‘White foods,’ such as bread, rice and potatoes often stay down easier. You may also try oyster crackers or saltines. Most importantly, remember that it won’t last forever.

Congratulations to Oscar-winning actress Minnie Driver, star of FX’s The Ritches, who is expecting her first baby. Minnie revealed her pregnancy on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week but hasn’t revealed who the father is. She’s just over 4 months along.

She also said she was still suffering from morning all day sickness, (yuck. I sympathise) but that she was enjoying her pregnancy.

Minnie has had some famous boyfriends, like John Cusack, Criss Angel, Matt Damon and most recently Josh Brolin, although they are said to have split up.

At least if there’s no man in the picture, she won’t have some dude waving stinking nachos around like my husband did when I had morning sickness.

Congratulations Minnie, wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy!

Moms with morning sickness, you have my sincere sympathy. I spent the first three months of my pregnancy talking on the great white telephone. And “morning” sickness? How about “all flipping day” sickness? I threw up water. I threw up saltine crackers. I still feel sick to this day if i see a saltine. I lost 20lbs and got that gaunt, modely look. A little consolation was that it was the most I’ll ever look like Kate Moss, although without the lifestyle.

The worst thing for me was that morning sickness seems so stupid. It’s so counter-intuitive, not being able to eat when you’d have thought mother nature would want you nourishing the baby and feeding yourself up for the pregnancy.

The medical community currently favors a theory that morning sickness protects the embryo from harmful parasites, bacteria or toxins which may be present in foods the mother eats.

The embryo is most sensitive to harmful substances in the early weeks, when the head, brain, organs, and body parts are developing most rapidly. It’s critical everything goes right in the first trimester. After about 3 months, major body parts and organs are developed, and the fetus spends the rest of the pregnancy mostly getting bigger. Coincidentally, that’s when morning sickness goes away for most moms.

So perhaps nature’s plan is, that it’s better if moms just don’t eat anything in the critical first few weeks of pregnancy? The fetus only needs a tiny amount of energy in the first trimester, so if mom can’t eat, baby isn’t starved.

Still, it doesn’t explain why some pregnant moms suffer and some pregnant moms don’t, although just about every mom gets at least a little nausea. But it’s still unwise to eat anything past it’s sell-by-date, whichever category you are in.

My morning sickness ended at about 14 weeks. I was in a airport check-in queue, my husband had just dropped me off and was about to leave. I joined the queue feeling nauseous. Suddenly, like a switch had been flipped, the morning sickness was gone. I was hungry! And I knew exactly what I wanted. Hey! I called to my husband. He turned around, expecting me to blow him a goodbye kiss or something. Get me Doritos! I shouted.

And so the morning sickness ended. And the food craving stage started.

I felt like I had the flu for three months straight. I told my husband I couldn’t do it for the nine weeks left in my first trimester. I was lucky enough never to throw up, but on some day could hardly get off the couch.
‘Morning Sickness,’ which most women know is in dire need of a new and more accurate name, can be a rough time. There are many tips and tricks to help alleviate the unpleasantness, although none are miracle-workers.

The scent of peppermint, ginger, lavender, watermelon, and lemon are reported sources of relief. Drinking and eating items with these ingredients may help quell the churning seas.

An excellent piece of advice is not allowing your stomach get either too full or too empty; rather, eat small meals throughout the day (if you can stomach it), as food in your stomach tempers stomach acids. If you seem to be hit hard in the morning, keep saltines, or some other carbohydrate, and water by your bed and ingest these about fifteen minutes before you actually get up. Your stomach will be empty from the night before, which can make things worse. Eating a high protein and complex carbohydrate snack before sleeping will help keep your stomach full throughout the night.

Avoid fatty, rich, spicy, acidic, and fried foods; some of these take longer to digest and others will irritate your digestive system.

Just like when you have the flu, it’s important to stay hydrated. Dink small amounts of fluids throughout the day. My mother taught me to drink small cups of vegetable or chicken broth. (This sound disgusting, but it isn’t! The broth is actually really good for you and will provide a small amount of calories when your body really needs them.)

Check out acupressure bands, available at drug stores, which sailors take to avoid sea sickness. Or, try ‘Preggie Pops,’ hard candies that claim to ease morning sickness. I searched every drugstore in my area in desperation for Preggie Pops, and finally found them a few months later at a maternity boutique. Online you can find them at the Morning Sickness Help website.

Remember to continue taking your prenatal vitamin!

Finally, don’t freak out. Even women who have severe sickness during their pregnancy deliver healthy babies. It is important, however, to talk to your doctor about how you’re feeling. There is a condition called Hyperemesis gravidarum, which is characterized by severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and sometimes electrolyte disturbance. Mild cases are often treated with dietary measures, rest, and antacids. Severe cases might require a stay in the hospital to receive fluid and nutrition through an intravenous line.

If you need more information on morning sickness, check out these books:

* Managing Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women
* Take Two Crackers and Call Me in the Morning
* The Morning Sickness Companion

References:

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/morningsickness.html

Good news: you’re pregnant!

Bad news: you’ve got morning sickness.

With my first baby, I barely had any morning sickness. I got a little queasy, but for the most part it was smooth sailing. I still empathized with those who hit the bathroom at the mere whiff of food or other insufferable smells.

Apparently I didn’t empathize enough because with my second baby I was nailed, I mean nailed with morning sickness. All. Day. Long.

Tip number 1

Morning sickness doesn’t just happen in the morning. In fact you’d be lucky if it did, then you’d be able to look forward to the afternoon.

I spent the first three months of my pregnancy on the couch. Literally. With a little brown trashcan because we don’t have a bathroom on the first floor and we don’t have a tv on the second floor.

Tip Number 2

Always keep a bucket or bag handy.

I hated the smell of everything. Food. Candles. Air fresheners. Smoke. My husband. I hated his cologne, aftershave and pretty much every smell he came around with. I swear that man went from smelling good to smelling like bologna. Remember packing bologna sandwiches in grade school? Remember the smell it would get after it had been sitting out until lunch? My poor husband smelled like warm bologna to me. Eww.

Tip Number 3

Your significant other’s scent may turn you off and turn on the heaving. Don’t worry it will pass, however they will not appreciate being told they stink on a daily basis – bad for the self-esteem.

When I did move off the couch it was to amuse other people with my wide-eyed, hand clasped over mouth, running technique. Women would look at me with a knowing smile. Friends would giggle. I swear my sister outright laughed in delight. Even my two year-old get in on the act. “Look, I’m Mommy,” she would announce. Then she would proceed to grab my “throw up bucket” and walk around retching into it. She would finish out her performance by announcing she needed to lay down and dramatically flop on the couch. Real cute. NOT!

Tip number 4

Morning sickness is not funny. Spread the word to those around you. It’s only funny after you’ve given birth and that child is walking. Then throwing up in your purse will become amusing. In the meantime, while you’re in it, people who laugh at your predicament are subject to being thrown up on. Whups!

Nothing sets off chatter among women like when you declare that you are suffering from morning sickness. They will nod and pretend to empathize long enough to launch into their life story on morning sickness. Every instance, every child, every trigger – which only serves to trigger you. Right then. Thanks lady!

Or the worse offenders – those who claim they never had it and hold on to that phrase like a badge of honor, something to taunt and torment you. Be forewarned, these are the same women who children will sleep through the night at 2 weeks, are preschool geniuses and never get dirty. I suggest you make new friends, obviously she’s either a liar or a pod person.

Tip Number 5

Don’t discuss morning sickness. Not unless you want to be bored, triggered to puke or made to feel inadequate.

Five more tips to go, but in the meantime – any thoughts on the first five?