Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum]

I had it for both of my pregnancies - unrelenting, all-day nausea + vomiting. For 4 months.

My appetite disappeared (but I HAD to eat or I felt worse). My skin turned pale. I lost weight. All I wanted to do was lie perfectly still and hope with all my might that I would fall asleep. [It was that bad].

Needless to say, my first few months of pregnancy were not glamorous and radiant. I was in survival mode, trying every possible remedy (except prescription medications - I didn't feel comfortable with that).

Since my last pregnancy, quite a few natural remedies have come out or become more popular. As far as I know, this is a comprehensive list. If you know of any others, please leave a comment.

Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum] 1Acupressure bands ($5-$20)

Marketed and manufactured by a variety of companies, these drug-free brands utilize pressure to bring nausea relief. These bands are also commonly used as a natural remedy for motion sickness. I tried them for my second and third pregnancies with little success. [Pictured: Psi Bands]

Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum] 2Beaute de Maman Dietary Herbal Supplement for Pregnancy Related Nausea ($15.99 for a box of 30 capsules)

These tasteless, odorless capsules are all-natural and use a combination of Ginger, Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, & Lime to counteract nausea. The instructions are to take one capsule twice a day.

Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum] 3B-natal Therapops or Lozenges ($15.99 for 28 pops or lozenges)

According to the website, Vitamin B6 is the only scientifically proven treatment that consistently works to alleviate the nausea and vomiting of morning sickness. Choose between a cherry pop or a green apple lozenge.

Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum] 4Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Morning Wellness Tea ($5.97 for 16 tea bags)

100% organic and certified kosher. Blended with stomach settling ginger root and spearmint, a safe hint of peppermint, and soothing chamomile and lemon balm with just a twist of orange peel for flavor. Drink your nausea away (no, not THAT kind of drinking...Tea, people!).

Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum] 5Mommy's Bliss Morning Sickness Magic ($14.99 for 60 capsules)

Contains Ginger, B-6, Red Raspberry Leaf, and Folic Acid. Take one flavorless veggie capsule four times in a 24 hour period. Works to actively PREVENT (as well as treat) nausea. 100% all-natural. Look for improvement of symptoms within 3-5 days.

Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum] 7Preggie Pops and Drops ($3.97 for 7 pops or $5.50 for 21 drops)

Naturally-flavored lollipops and lozenges, formulated for pregnant women. Available in: Sour Lemon, Sour Raspberry, Green Apple, Sour Tangerine, Peppermint, Spearmint, Lavender, and Ginger. [Side Note: I've never understood the Lavender flavor. Eeewww.]

Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum] 9Tranquil Tummy Saltine Crackers With Ginger ($9.95 for a box of 12)

I pretty much lived on Saltine crackers for my first trimester so it makes sense that a company would market them as a morning sickness aid - with a boost of ginger (which is world-renowned as a digestive aid).

Other common remedies include: sucking on lemons, eating or drinking ginger, and avoiding an empty stomach.

Note: I'm not pregnant (at least, I don't think I am). ;)

Note2: It was all worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Did you experience morning sickness? If so, did you try any of these remedies? Which ones worked for you?

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36 comments on “Morning Sickness [remedies for emesis gravidarum]”

  1. Thank you so much for pointing me toward this round-up of remedies! I don't know if it is my "advanced maternal age" (snort) this time around, or what? But, morning (noon, night!) sickness is certainly hitting me hard w/ this pregnancy than my previous pregnancies. Thanks for the tips :-)

    Best wishes,
    Kara

  2. For those of you who that are followers of Supra and their Skytop form, we have a heal for you. Here we characteristic a two of Supra Trinity NS TUF’s, which characteristic a crackled cowhide construction.

  3. I had a mild bout with it both times -- thankfully! I lived on Ritz crackers and Reed's Ginger Ale -- the only ginger ale I could find made with REAL ginger, not just carbonated water with artificial ginger flavoring.

  4. Ugh! I am so sorry for all of y'all that have such horrible *morning* - more like all day - sickness! I was fortunate to not deal with it much. More of a yucky feeling from around 4:30pm-8:30pm with both of my babies. I also couldn't stand vegetables or salad. We usually eat salad/veggies almost every night, but when I am pregnant I can't stand them! That is how I knew I was pregnant with #2...made a salad and could barely stomach it. Took a test that night and poof! Instant pink lines! I do hope your next one is easier on you...and for all of you mamas who deal with it...I hope you are able to find some relief!!

  5. I'm currently pregnant with baby#5 and have been extremely ill with all of them. I tried only natural remedies with the first three, with no relief and turned to prescription zofran plus B6 tablets at the same time for the last two. This time I still could not stop vomittng or losing weight even with the meds. It's a scary place to be. Thankfully I now seem to be past that part of the pregnancy and now at 25 weeks I have only general nausea to contend with. My kids were all worth it, though I will admit that this one was a surprise, and the idea of ever being pregnant again fills me with tremendous anxiety.

  6. I was sick from 6 weeks on. I used the Preggie Pop Drops, and they helped to some degree. But eventually I went the prescription route after losing 20 lbs (the worst was 5 lbs in one day). By 9 months I was able to gain back the 20. Being pregnant was the most miserable time of my life, but I am happy to say that after a year of nursing, I am down 35 lbs from my prepregnancy weight!

  7. Oh yes! LOTS of morning sickness! But soo worth it! I had it with all 4, but the worst with number 3, who was my 3rd boy. I had those exact accupuncture bands you have posted - they didn't do anything for me. Preggy Pops and B-Natal did okay. Mostly mints, keeping something in my tummy, and getting enough rest.

  8. There are a lot of new products on the market since I was pregnant seven years ago! I was lucky in that I didn't have terrible morning sickness, but suffered from afternoon nausea (around 4 o'clock every day for 3 months) and if I didn't eat something it got a lot worse. Worse than the nausea, though, was how some of my favorite foods revolted me and made me so nauseous - like fish, for example. Unfortunately my husband doesn't eat meat so there was fish cooking in the house almost every day - a killer! I also had such cravings for roast chicken, mashed potatoes and frozen peas. I ate that almost exclusively for 4 months! Thanks again for an interesting post. Hope those who are preggers and suffering from morning sickness can find some relief.

  9. I never been super sick. But, for dealing with the grossos, I try to eat little bits of protein often, stay hydrated with water & sometimes mint or ginger tea, & chew on mint gum.
    There are some cool products you have listed here! I've never tried any of them!

  10. Yeah, I'm in the process of morning sickness #4...er, pregnancy #4. I'm 17 weeks along and still throwing up occasionally. I've had to give up dairy completely. Did you know that chicken flavored ramen has a tiny amount of milk in it? Yeah, that took me two days to get over. Without the dairy in my diet, I'm down to throwing up only once a week, but I can plan on throwing up at least that once a week. I tried Zofran from my midwife, but that gave me migraines and now I'm on compazine which is working a whole lot better. My biggest problem is that mine isn't really "morning" sickness, it's now "whenever you want to lay down and go to sleep, no matter what time" sickness. It's good to see there's a few other options for when the compazine's just barely taking the edge off. Thanks!

  11. Yup, morning sickness was rough, but I agree...I'd do it all again. Ginger Tea and motion sickness wrist band 'things' were my best solutions!

  12. It's probably a good thing you didn't try prescriptions. I tried 3 or 4 different ones, and they didn't work anyway, even if they WERE safe!

    1. So sorry! Do you have it bad this time around? I'm impressed that you're still writing consistently through the 1st trimester (and, selfishly, I'm glad...your blog is is one of my favorites!).

  13. I didn't experience any nausea with my first pregnancy. I did experience some with my second but nothing like yours. I never actually threw up. I just had a huge aversion to most foods and smells and wanted to lie very, very still all the time or else I would get dizzy/light-headed. I only wanted to eat bland foods like broth or applesauce or toast. The first pregnancy was a boy and the second was a girl -- I wonder if gender has anything to do with it?

    I remember when you went through extreme "morning" sickness with your second pregnancy and my heart went out to you. You proved you were one strong mama before they even placed that babe in your arms. You're amazing!

  14. I had no idea there were so many options like this! I have however, tried the Earth Mama Angel Baby teas, and they are wonderful! They even have a different concoction for different stages of your pregnancy and then even a nursing tea!

  15. Oh goodness, yes I was sick. I was sicker than either of my other 2 pregnancies. It's funny how different all of my pregnancies were. Very nauseous with the first, but didn't throw up. Not really nauseous at all with the second. Extremely nauseous and threw up all the time with this 3rd one....and they're all girls, so all of the talk about "oh, this one if probably a boy because I'm not sick at all/I'm extremely sick" has nothing to do with gender, at least not for me. I didn't try any of those remedies, but I'm curious to see is they would have worked. With this baby, I chewed a lot of mint gum. For some reason, that seemed to help a bit. Also, when I could actually get myself up to exercise, I felt better as well.

  16. I stopped vitamins also. That seemed to help some. I started eating whatever sounded good...it was Poptarts or nothing some days. It took until about week 22 or so before I stopped feeling like I was constantly hungover.

    I became severely anemic with the last two....another topic altogether.

  17. Wow, this was timely! Thankfully, my morning sickness is easing now that I've reached the second trimester. I still have a hair-trigger gag reflex, but the 24-hour-a-day nausea has passed. I hadn't heard of any of those remedies, except for the Preggie Pops. I'll have to keep this list in mind in case we go for #3 someday down the road!

    What worked for me was actually eating TINY bits of food all day long -- I learned that having a full stomach made me nauseous, but also being hungry made me nauseous. I craved fruits like watermelon and bananas, and dried papaya, and ate several avocados a day at the worst of it! I'd literally slice the avocado in half, scoop out the pit, and then go at the flesh with a spoon. I think you're absolutely right, these cravings & aversions are our body's way of getting the nutrients we need while helping us avoid anything that's potentially harmful to our baby.

    Weirdest aversion that I'm still coping with -- I can't deal with raw chicken. Can't cook it, can't even stomach walking by it in the grocery store. I can eat chicken...as long as someone else does the purchasing & cooking!

    1. I remember feeling the same way. I had to have food in my stomach at all times, but...not too much food. It was sometimes tough to find that "happy medium."

  18. With my first (and only pregnancy so far) I didn't have morning sickness. I'm crossing my fingers for any more. I threw up ONE time after eating some fried chicken strips (didn't eat much fried anything pre-prego) while on a cruise (with choppy seas.) However, I did stop feeling hungry while pregnant and instead would feel nauseas. Through some early trial and error, I learned that my nausea was actually tied to my hypoglycemia which went into overdrive while pregnant (enhanced symptoms with fewer early warning signs.) I had to eat a little bit every couple hours to keep the low blood sugar at bay or I was in trouble fast (losing vision, dizzy and on the edge of passing out.)

  19. Thanks for posting this! I love Note #2! I was fortunate to not get sick with my 1st (and only) pregnancy, but who knows in the future, right? I do agree with eating whatever sounds good. My friend was craving red meat, which she never ate pre-pregnancy. Turned out she was slightly anemic while pregnant, and the red meat provided her the iron she needed. Our bodies work so well for us!

  20. I am not sure what to write. I had HYPERemesis Gravidarum for both of my pregnancies. I am so glad that you had the option of not taking drugs to help, but I did not. It was not that easy for me. It was life or death for me and my baby. I had no choice. The things you listed did not even touch my symptoms. Many do not understand this, I wish more did. Please check out http://www.helpher.org for more information. This may be a great way to help some women out on your Give Every Day Journey!

  21. Sorry - I have no advice here. I was one of those women who tossed her cheerios one time with the first pregnancy. I did get VERY sick at about 3 months with #1, but that was hard core FLU - so not fun. Beyond that, I never was sick. With #2 - not even once was there any nausea. Granted, I found out about #2 coming when I went to the doc with a terrible sore throat. He came back in the room to announce that I tested positive for strep, and the pregnancy test he ran just to be certain of the antibiotic he could put me on came back as "one big positivo." But again with baby 2, no morning sickness. Yes, I know I was fortunate as I have heard the horror stories of morning sickness. My heart aches for those of you mamas who do deal with it, and I'd say, eat or drink what ever you possibly can (w/o harm to baby of course) to make you feel better!

  22. I drank some mint tea with my second pregnancy, but actually licorice root tea seemed to work better. Not that I ever had morning sickness bad, I never threw up, but just felt nauseous for the first couple of months.

  23. You are too cute with your little note at the bottom. I was wondering! :) Many on here I hadn't heard of before. I was just like you when I was pregnant with both of my girls. Nothing seemed to work. My sister liked the B-natals and thought they worked for her slightly. Morning sickness magic made everything worse for me. I could not take it without throwing up more. Oh and as a side note-It was all worth it for me too! :)

  24. With Levi I had horrible morning sickness. It turned out to be caused by taking vitamins. I couldn't even stomach Flintstones vitamins. Once I quit taking them I was fine. With Sophia, I decided not to take vitamins until the 2nd trimester. I still had morning sickness, but it was so much better than with Levi. I actually gained weight instead of just losing it. I tried the Earth Mama tea and loved it. Other than that I say eat whatever sounds good to you...even if it's just saltines. In my case, peperoni pizza was one of the only things I could eat during the first trimester in both pregnancies...weird, huh?

    1. During the 1st trimester of my first pregnancy, I remember my doctor telling me to eat whatever sounded good to me - even if it was ice cream every day!

      I have since read several studies that assert that pregnancy cravings and aversions serve very real purposes - providing our bodies with needed nutrients or warning our bodies to stay away from potentially harmful ingredients.

      I can clearly remember one time that I really wanted to eat an avocado. Tim bought one and I ate the whole thing plain...and felt much better afterward. Maybe my baby needed those rich monunsaturated fats and an extra dose of potassium?

  25. Oddly enough, all I had to do to not vomit during pregnancy was stopping eating chicken. I got sick a half-dozen times at first, but then none at all after I stopped eating chicken. I was sure missing chicken strips by the time I had my son!!

    1. I just read this in Wikipedia tonight: "Pregnancy sickness causes women to experience nausea when exposed to the smell or taste of foods that are likely to contain toxins injurious to the fetus, even though they may be harmless to her. There is a good correlation between toxin concentrations in foods, and the tastes and odors that cause revulsion."

      This is particularly interesting to me because I found that most meats were especially unappetizing to me during my pregnancies...and animal products (like chicken!) can sometimes carry bacteria that could be very dangerous for a developing baby. Perhaps our bodies "know" more than we give them credit for...

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