When experiencing morning sickness in your first trimester, the last thing you feel like doing is eating. However, you need to eat for your overall health and the well-being of your baby. There are a number of foods you can try that are known to help ease nausea and may even help calm your morning sickness symptoms.
A Few Suggestions That May Help When Experiencing Morning Sickness
These suggestions include:
- Eat small meals throughout the day to avoid feeling too full which can increase nausea.
- Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. You need to stay hydrated.
- Avoid spicy, fatty, acidic or greasy foods. These foods can be especially hard on the stomach.
- Avoid foods or smells that are especially strong and/or pungent.
- Avoid being in warm places. Being too warm can increase nausea symptoms.
- Get plenty of rest but avoid taking a nap directly after a meal.
- Make sure to eat something at the very start of your day such as crackers or dry cereal.
Recommended Foods That May Help Alleviate Morning Sickness
The following are a list of foods that are known to relieve nausea during pregnancy. You will notice that the food options are bland, do not have a strong odor and are easy on the stomach.
Keep in mind, a certain food that works for one pregnant woman may not work for another. So, you may need to go through a trial-and-error process before you know what works best for you. These foods include:
Breakfast
It is always best to have breakfast in the morning. These foods include:
- Hard-boiled or scrambled eggs
- Dry cereal such as Cheerios
- Toast with peanut butter (Sliced banana is optional)
- Plain bagel
- Yogurt
Lunch and Dinner
These foods are appropriate for either lunch or dinner and include:
- Sandwiches
- Soups or broth
- Salads prepared with care (extensive washing of lettuce etc.)
- Brown rice
- Beans (kidney, pinto, black)
- Meats such as chicken or turkey
- Baked potato
- Plain vegetables
- Avocados
Snacks
There are a number of sweet, sour, and salty snacks to choose from that are good for nausea. These include:
- Crackers, pretzels or baked chips
- Cheese sticks
- Nuts
- Fruits such as apples, bananas or watermelon
- Frozen snacks such as flavored popsicles, sorbet or sherbet
- Ginger snaps or chews
- Jello
- Dark chocolate
- Protein bar
- Sweet or sour hard candies such as Jolly Ranchers, Lemon Drops or Peppermint Life Savers
- Ginger gum
- Preggie Pops which are natural fruit-flavored drops made specifically to ease morning sickness
Drinks
The following drinks may help alleviate your morning sickness symptoms:
- Ginger ale
- Lemon water or plain water
- Carbonated drinks without artificial sweeteners
- Teas such as ginger, peppermint, chamomile, lemon, raspberry or peach
- Protein shake
A Few Foods You May Want to Avoid
What you enjoyed eating before you were pregnant, may not agree with you now that you're experiencing morning sickness. These include:
- Anything spicy or greasy
- Anything with heavy onion
- Anything with heavy garlic
- Any type of smelly foods
- Orange juice due to the acidity
- Caffeinated drinks because caffeine can upset your stomach
If Unsure, Start With Crackers, Lemon or Ginger
The most popular and common 'go-to' foods for morning sickness are crackers, 'anything lemon' and 'anything ginger'. Crackers typically calm nausea because they are high in starch and help absorb the gastric acid which will then help settle a queasy stomach. Ginger (in any form) has stimulating properties that are very effective in reducing morning sickness symptoms. Ginger has actually been around for centuries curing upset stomachs. If you sniff, eat or lick a lemon, the refreshing smell, taste, and sourness of the lemon have been known to calm a nauseated stomach.
It Is Important That You Eat
Again, while you may not feel up to eating, you still need to eat. Having an empty stomach can actually intensify your nausea symptoms. So it is best to try out the different food options and see what works best for you. If your nausea and vomiting become so severe that you have lost weight or are at risk of becoming dehydrated, you will need to consult with your doctor immediately.
