Ease your nausea
Are you pregnant and experiencing nausea? As you probably know, it’s quite common to feel sick, especially in early pregnancy. It’s also common to retch or throw up. The nausea usually passes, but there are a lot of things you can try to alleviate your symptoms. If you’re very troubled by nausea, don’t hesitate to contact your healthcare provider.
Self-care tips
- Try eating small, frequent meals
- Avoid fatty foods
- Have a snack with carbs, like fruit or a sandwitch
- Try to avoid stress and keep some flexibility in your daily schedule.
- Have something to eat before getting out of bed.
- Drink plenty of fluids, especially if you are getting sick a lot. Try to hydrate at times other than just mealtime.
- Eat boiled foods without strong spices.
Be cautious with certain pain-relieving drugs
Avoid pain-relieving drugs known as NSAIDs (short for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) when you are pregnant as there is a risk that the foetus could be affected. For this reason you should consult a physician before using these kinds of drugs during the first six months of pregnancy. Common forms of NSAIDs are Ipren, Treo and Naproxen. During the second half of pregnancy you should not use NSAIDs at all as they may cause harm to the baby. You could have contractions, prolonged labour and heavier bleeding. There’s no need to worry if you’ve just taken a single dose.
Avoid alcohol, drugs and tobacco
Alcohol, drugs och tobacco are all harmful to the growing foetus, so they should be avoided completely during pregnancy. If you’re having a hard time abstaining from these substances, help is available.
When nothing seems to help
A small percent of pregnant women struggle with nausea so severe they need to seek care in hospital. This is called hyperemesis gravidarum. Read more about it here >>
Rate your nausea with the PUQE-score
Did you know that pregnancy related nausea can be considered mild, moderate or severe depending on your symptoms?
Pregnancy hormones can affect your mood
At the beginning of pregnancy your hormones can affect your mood. You may find yourself switching between feeling angry, sad, down, and crying
Real experiences
To learn more about pregnancy-related nausea we have asked pregnant women about their experiences. See the answers in the Puke Barometer.