Morning Sickness During Pregnancy And How to Cope

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Nausea? Puking? Food Aversions? Loss of appetite? Welcome to the club. I would like to think that we who experience these revolting symptoms of morning sickness as a highly privileged club- noble and sacrificial mothers-to-be. Not saying that women who breezed through pregnancy are not, it is just a good positive reinforcement to have when we are running to the nearest bathroom every couple of minutes (for the ones who got it real bad).

And if you need more encouragement like I did!!

- Nausea has long been known to be a sign of a healthy pregnancy; it's been linked to a lower miscarriage risk and a lower risk of heart malformations in the fetus.
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/study-links-morning-sickness-to-brighter-kids-1.392315#ixzz2wtLuxi00

- The more severe the morning sickness is for the mom, the higher the IQ is for the child 

Read more: Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina (http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Rules-Baby-Raise-Smart/dp/0983263302)

COME ON! HOW BAD CAN MORNING SICKNESS BE??

I don't know how to describe the misery to people who had not experienced morning sickness or has just a very mild one. Mine was especially bad for my first pregnancy two years back and DEJAVU....again for my current pregnancy.

My First Pregnancy

I had morning sickness throughout my first pregnancy (literally all the way till I delivered!), felt the nausea all day long, puked more than five times a day and just couldn't summoned an appetite. This may gross you out, I puked so much that I tore my oesophagus and ended up spitting out chunks of fresh blood.

My Current Pregnancy

Just as I was hoping that the second pregnancy would be way better than the first...the first three months of my current pregnancy were even more a nightmare than the first. First of all I have just moved to Jakarta and out of the comfort of friends and familiarity back in Singapore, next I had no appetite at all and I couldn't get whatever I could imagine having (like local Singaporean food) in Jakarta. 

And when I finally managed to eat, my dear body just ejected it like an adverse chemistry test. It was depressing in many aspects; not being able to eat when I am a foodie, worrying about the foetus not getting enough nutrients, feeling too sick to have any social life or step out of the house, feeling extremely glamorous(not!) to be totally incapable of holding my puke when the nausea hits hard and end up puking into my palms in the middle of the shopping mall/restaurant/wherever I was...blablabla you name it. So if you are experiencing any of these, you are not alone. 

Sometimes I felt so horrid that I had second thoughts of the pregnancy, and then I felt even more awful harbouring these thoughts. Well again, I am not alone and so aren't you. The good news is that I've learnt even more tricks now that I am going through my second pregnancy and I am sharing them with you. 

Ways to Cope with Morning (All Day) Sickness 

(What I found most effective!)

1. Vitamin B6 (25/50/75mg)

I wish I knew this earlier during my first pregnancy. With the go-ahead from the gynae, I tried taking 25mg of Vitamin B6 the morning I wake up, another 25mg after lunch and a final 25mg before I sleep. Works like a wonder after two days! Not that I don't feel nausea nor puke anymore, but I definitely felt way better and puke less. 

As my morning sickness was quite severe so I consumed a higher dosage of Vitamin B6, however if yours is mild-moderate. 25mg just once a day or max twice a day would probably work for you, do check with your obgyn on the best dosage for you. I reduced my dosage after feeling better for a couple of weeks.

2. Chicken/Pork/Whatever Broth

Only chicken works for me..the stench of anything else sent me running and hugging my basin or toilet bowl. As I really could not muster any appetite for food but knew I still need the nutrients for the growing foetus, I had chicken broth..for every meal...every day..for the first three months in this pregnancy. 

Don't worry, you don't have to watch the stove for hours. I cooked the broth using a rice cooker with a set timer. Add in carrots, potatos and onions for more nutrients and a tastier broth. I would also recommend that you use organic chicken.

3. Antacids

I tried Gaviscon during my first pregnancy but it did not work very well to curb the acid reflux. Some moms recommended me to try Rennie (produced by Bayer) and it worked well. And it is more convenient than Gaviscon as it comes in mint-like tablets which you can just suck whenever you feel nauseous. 

4. Zofran/Ondansetron

This is usually prescribed by the obgyns if the morning sickness gets too severe (like mine) when you couldn't eat nor keep anything down at all. The first obgyn I visited in Jakarta prescribed this to me and while I was very reluctant to have any questionable drugs during pregnancy, I decided to try as I was losing weight too quickly. I did puke less during the two days which I took the drug however horrible headaches came with it too. I stopped immediately. 

However many moms had tried this and reported no side effects, you can try googling and reading more about it. 

5. Multiple Small Meals 

Crackers, fruits and saline biscuits as recommended by many moms, unfortunately did not work for me. I had to take my food and drinks warm to reduce the nausea while consuming it. So I drank my broth  or ate some boiled cabbage/vegetables every two hours and this did help to settle my stomach somewhat. 

Oh did I mention the taste of plain water puts me off as well? I replaced my usual intake of water with warm rose bud/green tea and I found it working for me. Remember it's important to stay hydrated.

6. Support

When I was feeling quite down because of the 24/7 awful sickness, I found that visiting forums/blogs and reading what other moms are going through helped alot. Talking to friends who had gone through bad morning sickness also provided additional encouragement. It really made me felt less alone. G being considerate and sweet also made me feel a lot better, and helped to erase the doubts that arise whenever it gets too difficult.

We are also lucky to have household help- which is very common in Asia, and I am especially grateful for during my pregnancies. As both of us didn't have any family in Jakarta, we really appreciated having a nanny to look after our toddler while I rested. If you are living out of Asia or it's hard for you to get household help, do ask help from family members/close friends/etc.

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And so...these are the top few things that really worked for me after trial and error and I hope it will help you a little as well :)

Other Things That Worked for Other Moms

1. Ginger Ale/ Soda

Many women swear by this in the forums. Well I tried both Ginger Ale and Coke, it worked for abit when I kept taking in small sips...however it really doesn't take the queasiness away for long. Maybe this works better for western women?

2. Ginger Candies/Biscuits

Hmm..the ginger candies/candied gingers/etc did help me for a couple of weeks, I sucked on them whenever I felt too nauseous. However after a while, I got so sick of the gingery taste and my brain somehow links it to nausea so I didn't want to get anywhere near it anymore.

3. Magnesium

Well this is one thing I haven't had a chance to try as it seems more like a preventive method for morning sickness. I came across this here: http://wellnessmama.com/6065/how-i-avoided-morning-sickness/

Have any tips or experience to share? Please feel free to write in below!