Best Pregnancy Hacks for Morning Sickness

Ah, morning sickness. One of the first telltale signs of pregnancy, and one of the most common pregnancy symptoms (besides missing your period, of course). If you’re part of the percentage who don’t experience morning sickness during pregnancy…well, we envy you.

But if your pregnancy includes nausea, vomiting and/or lack of appetite in the early weeks—and at any time of day, not just in the morning—then give some of these hacks a try. (And we hope you get to feeling better in no time!)

1. Eat or Drink Ginger

Ginger has been a common remedy for upset stomachs for literal centuries (it’s a scientifically proven antiemetic), so it makes sense that it works wonders for morning sickness too. Snack on a few gingersnap cookies or ginger chews, or sip ginger ale or ginger tea throughout the day to help reduce symptoms like nausea and vomiting. Not sure you can keep any food or drinks down? Try a ginger tablet instead.

2. Eat, Drink or Smell Peppermint

Peppermint is another natural remedy for nausea. And while, like ginger, you can eat or drink it, you can also ease an upset stomach just by smelling it. So bring on the peppermint tea (hot or cold), minty-fresh chewing gum and diffusers filled with essential oils.

3. Snacks Over Large Meals

Instead of your typical three larger meals, try eating six snacks or small meals throughout the day. Your stomach is already going to be limited in space thanks to your uterus growing in size, so don’t push its limits by eating too much at one time. Even in the first trimester before your uterus has gotten past the size of a grapefruit, it still helps to avoid feeling too full and overworking your digestive system.

4. Take a Walk

It’s not just the fresh air that’ll help—though that will also work wonders. Getting light exercise can help ease an otherwise uneasy tummy. It doesn’t have to be a hike or even a particularly long walk, but getting your feet moving in the outdoors for about a half-hour a day can help settle things down around your abdomen (and take your mind off things for a bit).

5. Carb Up

Now’s the time to break out any cracker stash you might have. If it’s hard for you to keep food down in the morning, plain toast might be your safest bet for breakfast. Another carb we love? Cheerios. Keep a bag of Cheerios with you wherever you are, whether in your purse, coat pocket or even on your nightstand. Whatever bread-type food you go for, just make sure it’s relatively plain-flavored stuff; any strong or spicy flavors will likely make nausea worse.

6. Avoid Nausea Triggers

This one seems pretty obvious, we know, but it can be easy to forget…until you experience one of your triggers. After the first few days of morning sickness, you may start to see a pattern in your nausea, like the smells, tastes and even sights around you. Nausea triggers can be anything from the typically disgusting (garbage, rotten food, etc.) to the totally mundane (laundry soap, cardboard), even things you usually love smelling, like fresh-baked cookies or the lumber aisle at Home Depot. Whatever it is that triggers your upset stomach—once you know what it is—keep it out of your surroundings as best you can.

7. Drink Citrus

We know it might be hard to think about food right now, but here’s another food item that can seriously help: citrus. Lemons, limes, oranges, whatever your preference is, adding a little bit to your meals or having some to drink can help soothe most morning sickness symptoms. We recommend a cool glass of fresh lemonade, adding a squeeze of lime to your otherwise bland crackers or chips or, as one Babylist parent swears by, adding a hint of lime to a slice of watermelon!

8. Take Your Prenatals with a Snack

Not-so-fun fact: Even the best prenatal vitamins can actually make you nauseous if you take them on an empty stomach. If you normally take your vitamins at a time of day that’s not near a meal or snack time, make sure you have a bit of food handy to help your body digest all those vitamins and minerals more smoothly.

9. Suck on Hard Candy

Bet you never thought anyone would recommend eating candy, huh? Many have attested to the nausea-easing effects of hard candy, especially the fruit-flavored and, oddly enough, sour kinds. Preggie Pop Drops are a stand-out favorite not just because they’re effective, but also the fact that they’re made with natural cane sugar and corn syrup (not the high-fructose kind) and naturally flavored with essential oils. Though if you have regular Jolly Ranchers laying around, those work just fine too.

10. Vitamin B6

Not sure if you’re getting enough Vitamin B6? Talk to your provider about how getting more B6 might help ease your symptoms of morning sickness. Adequate Vitamin B6 intake is known to reduce nausea—though it won’t help with vomiting, sorry—and you can increase your intake either naturally through foods like whole grains, nuts, fish and tropical fruits like bananas and papayas, or through a vitamin supplement. Just remember: Always talk with your provider before starting supplements while pregnant.

11. DON’T Use a Warm Pad or Hot Water Bottle

It may be tempting to put some heat on your abdomen to help ease any nausea, but raising your body temperature while pregnant can potentially harm a developing fetus, especially during the first trimester. A heating pad can be beneficial for soothing back pain later in pregnancy, as long as the pad is only placed on your back and for no longer than 20 minutes, but you should also talk to your provider before using a heating pad during pregnancy.

Hopefully, these tips help you survive morning sickness—and if it’s getting so bad that your morning sickness is affecting your mental health, know that you’re not alone (and talk to your doctor, as always).