9 Natural Ways To Treat Morning Sickness During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, your body will start to produce larger quantities of the human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) hormone. This ensures that your baby gets everything it needs in the early weeks of the pregnancy. Once the placenta has developed enough to nourish the baby, your body will start to produce less hCG and your nausea should start to ease. Until this stage, pregnant women are likely to have morning sickness.

There are some other hormones that can cause morning sickness during pregnancy, these include estrogen and cortisol.

Whilst an unpleasant experience, morning sickness shouldn’t affect yours or your baby’s health, especially if you make sure you stay hydrated. However, if you do start to notice that your sickness is causing you to lose weight you may want to chat with your doctor.

# Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is a great way to relax but depending on your sensitivities, certain smells could actually make your nausea worse. Test a few essential oils out to see which ones help and which ones don’t. Oils that commonly help to reduce nausea include.

peppermint
spearmint
mandarin
sweet orange
lime
lemon
ginger

# Ginger

Fresh ginger and ginger teas are often hailed as one of the best ways to calm morning sickness. It’s great for nausea in general, as discussed in our home remedies for nausea article, but it’s specifically helpful for women struggling with morning sickness. It seems to work especially well for people who like to wrap themselves up in many layers or often feel cold.

Nibbling on ginger biscuits can also help, although don’t have too many as they’re quite high in sugars. Too much sugar could cause a peak and then a crash in your blood sugar which would actually make you feel worse.

You can make a ginger tea quite easily too. Just add some fresh, grated ginger to some boiled water and leave it to cool. You can then sip on it throughout the day.

# Peppermint

In Chinese medicine, peppermint is thought to work for people who are the opposite of the people that find ginger helpful. It’s the yin to ginger’s yang. This means peppermint is more likely to calm your morning sickness if you have any of the following symptoms.

- often feel too hot and have to remove layers of clothing
- want cooler drinks
- often feel irritable
- are described as hot-headed

Sipping peppermint teas or chewing on sugar-free gums that are peppermint flavored can really help.

# Music

Some women find that the movement of being in a car can make their morning sickness worse. Certain music apps have been developed to help ease your morning sickness. They help by rebalancing the sensitive hearing mechanism deep within your ear. These apps work best when you’re wearing headphones rather than earphones as this helps the music to rebound off your eardrum in a more effective way.

# Reflexology

Reflexology isn’t a proven home remedy for morning sickness, but it is worth trying as it does seem to have some effect. The theory behind reflexology is that your feet form a map of your body. Based on this theory, pressing your feet in certain areas can help to relieve your symptoms and help you to feel less nauseous.

# Eat or Drink Something Sour

It might seem strange, but sour foods and drinks actually make great home remedies for morning sickness. Sucking on a sour candy or sipping on the lemon-flavored water can really help to settle your stomach.

# Simple Starches

Simple starches like crackers or plain toast are really gentle on an upset stomach. This means that you’re more likely to keep these foods down and satisfy your hunger. By doing so, you’re more likely to help ease your sickness. You could also try plain pasta if you’re after something a little more substantial.

# Smoothies

If you’re not feeling as though you can keep solid foods down, a smoothie might be a good bet. This will help to neutralize the acids in your stomach and balance out your blood sugar which will help to combat your morning sickness.

# Trail Mix

A tasty mix of fruits, nuts, and a few chocolate chips, trail mix is a great home remedy for morning sickness. It’s a light snack that’s relatively healthy and the nuts can really help to settle an upset stomach.