Roots Birth & Women’s Health
Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy
Lifestyle Changes
- Eat small frequent meals, avoiding periods of time when your stomach is completely empty and avoiding an overly full stomach
- Eat bland foods, often spicy, fatty, and strong-smelling foods can make nausea worse
- Sip small amounts of fluids at a time and try cold, clear, carbonated or sour liquids. It can also help to separate drinking from eating
- Suck on cold popsicles or smoothies
- Try to have protein with every snack or meal
- Eat something right before you go to sleep and before you get out of bed in the morning
- Try prenatal gummies instead of pills, or replace prenatal vitamins with a folic acid supplement
- Brushing your teeth can trigger nausea, try waiting a few hours after eating to brush
- Aromatherapy with lemon or mint essential oils
- Have someone else do the cooking
Foods, Supplements and Over the Counter Medications
- Peppermint Tea
- Seabands or other acupressure at the P6 (neiguan point)
- Ginger (1 gram per day)
- There are many ways to take ginger, including 250mg of a ginger supplement 4x per day, ½ tsp of grated ginger in 1 cup of tea 4x per day, or crystallized ginger candy
- Vitamin B6 supplement: up to 100mg per day (either 25mg 3-4x per day or 50mg 2x per day)
- Doxylamine (Unisom): ½ (12.5mg) of the tablets (not the capsules or melts) once a day at bedtime, or twice a day (but can cause drowsiness)
If you are having excessive saliva (spit) production, you can try:
- Spitting it out instead of swallowing it (carry a spitting cup)
- Chewing on gum (especially cinnamon flavor)
- Sucking on hard candies (sour may be helpful)
- Rinse with mouthwash frequently
- Place a towel under your face at night or when you are resting, lie down on your side
- Use soft cloths to wipe your face
- Stay hydrated!
If these “natural” remedies aren’t working, talk with your midwife about prescription medications, which can be safe and effective!
**We do not recommend marijuana as a treatment for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy**