Managing Morning Sickness

There is a fabulous little book that I would like to recommend by Marilyn M. Shannon called Managing Morning Sickness. It is inexpensive and an easy read: only 28 pages long! If at all possible, buy it! She discusses what causes morning sickness, what role diet plays, and what supplements to consider.

I struggled through morning sickness with my first child, trying a few suggestions offered by some people, but nothing helped very much.  With my second pregnancy, I found this book and did not suffer nearly so much! I have lent this book to a number of people, and even bought a copy for several friends, and as far as I know, they all found it very helpful.

Until you can acquire your own copy, here are a few simple tips that have helped me immensely.
First of all, realize that most morning sickness is caused by a drop in blood sugar levels, and can be managed by aiming to keep blood sugar levels from dropping. Here's how to do that:

*Do NOT rely on your appetite as a guide to when or how much to eat!
Morning sickness usually causes a loss of appetite, but even if you don't feel like eating, you need it more than ever.  Eating well despite your lack of appetite usually prevents the nausea from becoming worse.

*Eat small amounts of food, around the clock.
A major cause of low blood sugar is going too long without food. Eat well before going to bed, and I have even found it helpful to leave a snack on my nightstand for snacking in the middle of the night and again in the morning before rising, with consideration of the next point.

*Make all meals and snacks a combination of protein, complex carbohydrates  and fats.
Doing so slows the digestive process so that the digestive system can release the sugars over a relatively long period of time. Pregnant women require a lot of protein, but protein foods by themselves do not raise the blood sugar fast enough.
Some examples of good protein/carb combinations:
-Toasted cheese sandwich (with whole grain bread)
-Eggs and Toast (whole grain)
-Tuna and Crackers
-Nuts and Raisins or other fruit
-Chicken and Rice (preferably brown rice)
-Beans and Rice (preferably brown rice)
-Meat and Potatoes
Please note that white bread, white pasta, white rice, potato chips, crackers and most breakfast cereals are technically complex carbohydrates, but because of refining they are quickly digested to sugar. On the other hand, whole grain, unprocessed sources of these foods cannot be digested as rapidly, and so do not overstimulate insulin. Even these should be eaten in combination with a protein and fat, however.

*Avoid Sweets!
They are murderous to your blood sugar levels and should be avoided altogether, if possible. I find it interesting that most women do not desire sweets when they have morning sickness, even those that normally really have a sweet tooth!
Even fruit should never be eaten on an empty stomach, as they are rapidly digested and rapidly raise the blood sugar, resulting in a reactive hypoglycemia as the pancreas over responds with excess insulin. If you eat fruit, do so at the end of a meal at which you ate plenty of protein.
If you must eat other sweets as well, follow the same rule and only eat them at the end of a protein meal, and in very small quantities.

Avoid Caffeine and NutraSweet
Caffeine raises the blood sugar, resulting in reactive hypoglycemia. If you must drink coffee or tea, limit the daily intake drastically, and only drink with a meal.
Nutrasweet should be avoided altogether. Among other hazards, it is digested as phenylalanine, which is a potent stimulator of insulin.

Salt Your Food To Taste
Salt can help "power" more blood to the brain by raising the blood pressure a bit. For women with low blood pressure (like me), it can make a real difference! Again, it is amazing to me that while I normally have a real sweet tooth, I crave salty things in early pregnancy.  If you find that you are nauseated when you are upright and only feel comfortable when lying down, your low blood pressure may be the culprit, and frequent salty snacks may perk you up. I recommend using sea salt.