Nausea and fatigue
Nausea
Unfortunately, nausea is very common in pregnancy, but very annoying. Horrible as you feel, it's a reminder that you're pregnant.
Here are some things you can do:
Here is a link to a good handout about nausea and vomiting:
Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
Fatigue
Unfortunately, nausea is very common in pregnancy, but very annoying. Horrible as you feel, it's a reminder that you're pregnant.
Here are some things you can do:
- Try to eat, small frequent meals or just have a snack or something to eat every 2 hours or even every hour. A lot of times keeping some food in your stomach is helpful to keep it at bay.
- If you're waking up at night to go to the bathroom eat something then as well. An empty stomach = more acid = more nausea. Protein is best, but if you really can't stomach anything except for potato chips, it's fine, just eat the potato chips. Anything is better than nothing.
- Avoid trigger foods that seem to make it worse. Very acidic foods like citrus and tomato are often triggers.
- Keep some food next to your bed so that first thing in the morning before you even sit up in bed you eat a cracker or two. After you've chewed & swallowed, sit up slowly and wait, taking deep, calming breaths. If everything is fine, go about your day.
- Consider ditching your morning tooth-brushing as it often triggers vomiting. Or at the least, try not to brush teeth right after eating or on an empty stomach.
- You can try Seabands. Those are the acupressure bands you wear on your wrists. They push on a certain point and help with nausea sometimes. They are usually marketed for motion sickness. Many pharmacies have them or you can go online.
- Don't drink during meals. Keep your drinking to between meals (staying hydrated is super important, especially if you start vomiting) and when you're eating, don't drink at the same time. Sometimes that can stimulate the gag reflux.
- Ginger is very good for nausea. Buy some fresh ginger, cut off a quarter-sized chunk, and put it in boiling water for tea. Add honey. You can also chew on candied ginger, or even drink ginger ale (as long as you make sure it has real ginger in it!). You can safely have up to 1g of ginger daily in pregnancy, so don't be worried about taking too much!
- Peppermint tea is very soothing. Add honey for a little extra energy boost.
- If smells are an issue, you can always try to keep some peppermint around to sniff when needed. It can block out scents that might trigger your nausea, and it can also calm down that vomiting urge. An essential oil on a tissue works or anything else you can find. If you had to be in a smelly situation, wearing Vicks vapor rub under your nose can help.
- If you're kneeling over the toilet vomiting, flush the toilet & drop a few drops of peppermint oil directly into the toilet bowl for the aroma.
- You can take Vitamin B6 daily. Usually we suggest 50mg twice daily. It's just extra vitamin B6 and that helps. There is also a prescription medication called Diclegis that can really work. It is just a combination of vitamin B6 and an antihistamine, but for some reason it's a can work differently than just the over the counter combo.
- If it gets more intense, you can take an antihistamine (like benadryl) or dramamine which actually will help. But watch out, it makes you super tired so take it at bedtime. It won't make you feel better right away, but it should help for the next morning. Sometimes it take a few days to really start working.
Here is a link to a good handout about nausea and vomiting:
Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
Fatigue
- Rest. We are sure you're already resting as much as possible, but give yourself permission to nap during the day, go to bed early and wake up late. It's hard work growing a baby!
- Eat every 2 hours. Really. This is very important for both energy and also for nausea. It doesn't have to be a lot, maybe just a small snack, but it does have to have protein in it.
- Drink a Nettle infusion (with mint to taste).
Here is info on how to make an infusion
(That video by Susun Weed is Chloë's favorite because of how wonderful and kooky she is.) Drink 1-3 cups a day. - Stay hydrated. Don't chug water (that won't help with the nausea) but take sips all day long. If you're not eating much, aim for slightly sugary drinks like juice or sport drink, tea with honey and coconut water to give you a little extra energy.