Morning Sickness
By Pam Caldwell
Herbalist
Pregnancy, Postpartum & Lactation Specialist

For some women, they can experience nausea related to pregnancy, fondly known as morning sickness. In my opinion, this is not accurately named, as this awful nausea can occur at any time of the day or night, or even all day and night for some. It's a fickle thing, what works one day might not work the next, but the day after that, it might work again. It's a matter of trying different things all the time to find what's going to work that day. Here are some ideas that people have found helpful:

Nausea Relief Tincture. This is a combination of herbs that help alleviate nausea that I formulated with pregnant woman and morning sickness in mind. It's very safe to use during pregnancy and helps quite a lot. The tincture can be taken immediately when the sensation arises, providing immediate relief, or you can just add it to your bottle of water and sip on it throughout the day. There is no wrong way to do it - it's a matter of what works for you. There is more on this on the website, under the Articles section, under the Pregnancy & Birth heading under the title Nausea Relief Tincture.

Pregnancy Tea. Pregnancy Tea has also been helpful to many women experiencing morning sickness. Not only does it help soothe the nausea, it helps keep the nutrition up when a woman might not be wanting to eat much. Pregnancy Tea, along with some protein shakes, will help soothe the nausea and keep most nutritional needs satisfied until the appetite returns. Ice chips can also be made from the Pregnancy Tea, further helping relieve nausea and vomiting.

Protein shakes. I found protein shakes to be invaluable during my morning sickness. I don't do well with dairy, so I found a non-dairy protein powder with spirulina and some other helpful things in the bulk section at my local health food store. It had a delicious vanilla flavor, and I would mix it with my favorite fruit (banana, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc) and some vanilla rice milk to make a delicious, healthy protein smoothie. This provided much nutrition and protein along with being incredibly soothing to my stomach. I think I lived on vanilla Rice Milk my entire pregnancy.

Keep something in your stomach. Graze. Eat small meals frequently. Keep hydrated. Eat healthy - protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, clean, healthy water. If you start having sugar cravings, you need more protein.

Sea Bands. These are the wrist bands that put pressure on an acupressure point in the wrist that helps to alleviate nausea. They were developed to help people with seasickness. This product is especially helpful for those who just can't get anything down. Nothing needs to be ingested - just wear the wrist band and get relief.

Slippery Elm. Slippery Elm powder is a nutritious herb that you can make into a gruel. It not only helps provide nutrition, but it helps soothe and heal the digestive tract as well as help curb heartburn.

It's my personal theory that part of what causes morning sickness is the liver dumping it's toxins into a pregnant woman's system in preparation for taking care of two now. When you have a sudden detox like this, it can result in nausea and vomiting. In preparation for conception, I recommend that women prepare by keeping their diet healthy, drinking fresh squeezed lemon in clean water 1-2 times a day (especially good if taken first thing in the morning before anything is eaten), and to take some liver cleansing herbs. For this, I would recommend the Nursing Mother's Liver Tonic, as it has herbs that are safe and gentle. The Liver Cleanse caps are also good, but contain herbs that can stimulate the uterus - not something that I would recommend for a pregnant woman, and I consider women trying to conceive as pregnant. So, for "just in case", I would stick with the more gentle product. This theory is not proven, however it makes good, common sense to me. Detailed information about the herbs in the Nursing Mother's Liver Tonic can be viewed under the Liver Cleanse caps info too.

Another issue around morning sickness or nausea is emotions. The stomach is the center of emotions - when we're nervous or upset, we get butterflies in our stomach or a sick, "nervous" stomach. Finding out that you're pregnant can bring up some very powerful emotions. Most women, even if they really, really want a baby and have been trying for a long time, feel a little conflicted when they actually find out that they're pregnant. Oh my gosh, is this really what I want? Am I going to be a good mother? Is this the right time/situation? Can we afford this? How are we going to do this, and how about that? Is my baby ok? Am I doing the right things? This is very normal - you're life is going to change in a big way, and it's not unusual for a woman to have some moments of fear and internal conflict. For fear and anxiety during pregnancy, I recommend Rescue Remedy. This is a flower essence that works on the emotional body, which then in turn has an effect on the physical body. It's very safe to use during pregnancy and postpartum. You can read detailed information about Flower Essences and Rescue Remedy under the Articles section.

Morning sickness typically goes away after the first trimester (13 weeks). For some, however, it can last longer or shorter, and some never get it at all. According to midwives, morning sickness is a sign of a healthy pregnancy - a "good take" so to speak. The lack of sickness however, does not signal that something's wrong. There are many, many women who don't have a minute of nausea who have wonderful pregnancies and beautiful, healthy babies. But for those women who do suffer with morning sickness, it might help a little bit to know that it's for something - that there's a beautiful wonderful little being growing inside of you, and that what you're going through right now will be all worth it when you have this very special little person all cuddled up and wrapped up snugly in your arms.