A good pregnancy diet that will stave off nausea?

[StaceyinLA]

I’m not sure if it’s best to follow the recommendations for foods to eat when you have morning sickness (which are not super nutritious foods), or if there is a diet that would help to keep it at bay? I read about some recommending lots of protein, while others recommend things like crackers and dry cereal, rice, pasta, etc.

 

What are some good meal ideas that are nutritious, and will help to keep the morning sickness (or all day sickness) under control?

[hornblower]

I think that can be very individual so the woman has to experiment a bit. 

For me the only thing that mostly worked was eating pretty much constantly. The peristaltic action of food going down kept things from coming back up. I think that's where the crackers etc get recommended. Because you can take tiny nibbles on things like that all day long. 

[nixpix5]

I had wicked morning sickness with my DD. I can still conjure up the memory of how miserable I was for the first 3 months and it was practically all day. In pregnancy foods seem to be highly personal. I believe our body craves some things that have a nutrient we need.

 

What worked for me was fruit and veggies. I could eat them fine without issue. I also could eat plain rice with lightly seasoned meats like salmon or chicken. If I was really REALLY nauseous then salted club crackers worked wonders. The salt was especially helpful.

[Guest]

I have never found anything that worked.

 

So I guess my answer would be, magic fairy dust, let me know if you find any. ;)

[Sandwalker]

I’m not sure if it’s best to follow the recommendations for foods to eat when you have morning sickness (which are not super nutritious foods), or if there is a diet that would help to keep it at bay? I read about some recommending lots of protein, while others recommend things like crackers and dry cereal, rice, pasta, etc.

 

What are some good meal ideas that are nutritious, and will help to keep the morning sickness (or all day sickness) under control?

Congratulations! Sorry about the morning sickness. Small portions of food frequently help, and no water on an empty stomach in the morning; eat a little something and then wait 5 minutes to drink fluids. For some reason, eating and drinking at different times helps the nausea.

 

Some women do well with brown rice, or rice noodles, some better with fruits. Anything with a strong smell is usually not tolerated well. Some women need to add more salt than usual to their foods.

 

If you're taking prenatal vitamins and your iron levels (hemoglobin/hematocrit) are ok, you could switch to a prenatal vitamin without iron just until your morning sickness ends. (OTC prenatal gummies are easy to take and have the folic acid you want).

 

There is a regimen that some OBs reccomend for morning sickness: vitamin B6: 50mg three times a day and an over-the-counter sleep medication called unisom at bedtime. (Dramamine can be subbed for unisom: same thing.) There's a prescription med called Diclegis that contains the above ingredients in time-release form. It is $$ (for no reason!!) and many insurances require that you try the OTC b6/unisom combo first.

 

Some people are helped by sniffing essential oils like peppermint. (Peppermint tea can help too btw). They sell bracelets and necklaces that you can put a drop of essential oil in and sniff during the day when needed.

 

Hope the nausea passes soon. <3

Edited October 15, 2017 by Sandwalker

[SparklyUnicorn]

I didn't find anything that worked either.  It's hard enough to eat anything when you feel like that!  I ate very little most of the time.

 

I did try those sea bands.  I think why they helped was because they hurt my wrists so much it distracted me from the pukey feeling. 

 

 

[Sandwalker]

I didn't find anything that worked either. It's hard enough to eat anything when you feel like that! I ate very little most of the time.

 

I did try those sea bands. I think why they helped was because they hurt my wrists so much it distracted me from the pukey feeling.

Yes, the sea bands help a lot of women. There are ones that have a place to put essential oil so the mom can sniff it if needed. They're called NO MO' Nausea and are sold online.

[happypamama]

I think it’s just luck of the draw. I’ve never had any more than a tiny bit of queasiness in any pregnancy. When I would feel woozy or lightheaded, I’d eat protein and drink water.

[Julie Smith]

With Eldest I was never morning sick. But I puked often, and without warning for the first six months.

 

My doctor was even thinking of putting me on medicine since I was having trouble gaining weight. Puking after eating on average twice a day for 6 months can make weight gain tricky.

 

I did try numerous cures for nausea, but nothing kept my food down.

[StaceyinLA]

Thank you all. This is not me; it’s my daughter. I never had morning sickness. I had days where I’d be a little queasy, but never really anything worth talking about. Neither of my other daughters have really had it to the point of throwing up on and off all day, but this dd is struggling with it. She has had multiple early pregnancy losses, so I keep telling her this is a really good thing, but I’m sure to her it doesn’t seem so good when she’s hanging over a toilet.

 

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. I’ll try and give her some ideas.

[rjand6more]

Honestly, it’s not a time to be worried about nutrition. It’s a time to focus on calories. Getting anything to stay down is an achievement.

For me... nothing EVER sounded good. I could not cook food( the smell was horrid). It was a blessing when someone just brought food. Sometimes I ate it. My family sometimes cooked food in the crockpot in the garage and ate outside using disposable plates.

Pop helped things stay down. The cola syrup and carbonation. Mr Pibb was my favourite. I just sipped often. And burped a lot. Lol

Doritos were often easier to keep down.

When I was able to stand upright and food cooking didn’t make me throw up, I made a steak for myself every morning.

I couldn’t even drink water. People telling me to stay hydrated, eat healthier, exercise more... I hated them. Lol

[OrganicJen]

I agree that this is a very individual thing as what works for one doesn't cut it for the next person. For me ginger helped but that was really it. I drank ginger tea or added ginger to foods like stir fry at dinner or oatmeal at breakfast and that helped the most. Good luck!

[Elizabeth86]

For the first 3 nothing helped. I did discover gatorade was my friend when I couldn't stomach drinking plain water anymore. With my 4th I found that eating A Lot even when I didnt want to eat kept the nausea away. I didnt have many food aversions this time so that helped.

[The Governess]

The high protein diet was the only thing that worked for me. It was called the Brewer Diet.

[ErinE]

My most severe nausea triggers were individual to each pregnancy, but nothing short of Zofran staved off morning sickness. Having saltines by the bed and eating a few before i got up in the morning sometimes helped.

[LinRTX]

She may not be able to keep anything down. Nothing may work but time (or a baby).

[CadenceSophia]

Nothing worked for me except for zofran.. Which I think you are not supposed to start until after 14 weeks now due to clef palate risk? I can't remember really..

 

Supposedly the type of fiber in beans binds to excess hormones in the stomach and can reduce nausea. I always ate lots of beans until I was too sick to eat them hehe.

 

No matter what I tried, you could date my pregnancies by the onset of morning sickness.. 8 weeks and a day.

[Sandwalker]

Zofran is not as often prescribed anymore for morning sickness due to a current lawsuit. More commonly Diclegis is, though zofran still is used for severe morning sickness or hyperemesis.

[barnwife]

I agree that it's very individual. For me, ginger, popsicles, and sour patch kids (not off brands, just that one), along with eating very often seemed to work the best. Drinking lemon-flavored very cold water was better than drinking plain out of the tap water.

[Closeacademy]

With the first I found potatoes (french fries mostly), nuts and pretzels were about all I could eat there for a long time. With the second there was more variety because I got on medication sooner and I discovered Italian ice. It kept liquid in me but not so much at a time that I got sick on it like anything else.

 

Good luck and I hope it passes soon and you don't have hyperemesis which is what I had.

[mumto2]

With my first I was vomiting the day before she was born. Nothing stayed down well and eventually the aim in life was to keep 2 cans of Boost or Ensure down each day. Dh made milkshakes that were really good and stayed down normally. Sometimes salty like nuts worked if I was hungry.

 

With my second I discovered that for me it was the pressure to eat. The fact I had to think about it. Be asked what I would like if dh was home. Smell it being prepared.... I ended up being hospitalized long term for a different pregnancy complication and learned the regimentation of hospital life took the pressure off. I filled my menu out days in advance which meant I had no clue what dinner would be other than generally acceptable. ;) My food arrived at the same time exactly. No thought needed I just ate what I could and normally was left alone about food. They brought snacks throughout the day so I ate small amounts constantly. I drank water constantly(contraction prevention) so was incredibly well hydrated which I think helped.

 

If you live near your dd surprising her with basic food (macaroni and cheese level) that is relatively plain might be a huge help. Don't tell her you are bringing food. Treat it as a no big deal and put it in the frig if she can't deal with it with no pressure. Make sure you have it packaged so it can be reheated in serving size quantities. Having to scoop things out to reheat made me start my nausea cycle.

[StaceyinLA]

Well, I wish I lived near her - she just moved to WA state, so I’m about 2800 miles away. If I was closer I’d definitely be feeding her up! ;-p

 

Her boyfriend is really good about cooking and encouraging her to eat; I just think she waits too long to have a bite of anything and it just keeps her feeling bad.

 

She cannot drink water at all. If she does, she throws up. Occasionally she can drink a little if she’s just eaten. They keep a pitcher full of lightly sweetened decaf tea made for her to drink. I figured that was something that was mostly water, and she could control the sugar to some degree instead having something that is super loaded with it all the time as a water replacement.

 

She’s getting close to 10 weeks, so maybe in a few weeks, she’ll get past the worst of it. Of course, I realize there’s no guarantee of that. I just hope to give her some ideas to make her feel a bit better.

[AmandaVT]

I had to have a lot of lemon juice in my water in order to keep it down. Regular water would make me so nauseous and I typically love plain water. 

 

I lived off of salt and vinegar potato chips and lemon water for the first few months. By around month 4, I was able to eat more foods. I completely lost my sweet tooth when pregnant, which was weird. It came back after DS was born.

[tdbates78]

I had HG and nothing worked until I got a home nurse and a Reglan pump. It was absolutely miserable, enough to keep me from ever getting pregnant again. Hope she feels better soon. Prior to the HG diagnosis my Dr advised me to try the BRAT diet, ginger, and those seasick wristbands. Maybe one of those will work.

[littlebug42]

I was extremely ill with both pregnancies and different things worked for each.  I just ate whatever I could keep down.  With my youngest daughter, I had to have IV fluids several times because I would get so ill and dehydrated, I couldn't come out of it on my own.   Perhaps she should consult her doctor and see if she needs this.  For my OB, the line was when I couldn't keep down water.  I was off to the hospital every time. 

[itsheresomewhere]

A good friend could not handle water but was saved by pineapple juice. She swears it was the only thing she could keep down and hydrated.

[Zinnia]

I didn't find anything that worked either.  It's hard enough to eat anything when you feel like that!  I ate very little most of the time.

 

 

Very little helped me, either, but it meant that I ate continually in hopes of finding the magic thing.  And (most of the time), in the moments that it was going down, it wasn't coming up, so eating was minimal relief.