Discover 3 Natural Remedies For Morning Sickness
By David Silva
Here's an estimate that might shock you: as many as 80% of pregnant women
experience morning sickness or some form of nausea during their pregnancy.
Fortunately, the morning sickness doesn't last throughout the entire pregnancy.
It tends to peak around the 9th week and disappear around the 20th week.
Unfortunately, nearly three months of battling nausea can be tough on anyone.
Because of concerns for the baby, more and more women are turning to natural
remedies for their morning sickness. However, even natural remedies require
caution. For instance, the three most common natural remedies for morning
sickness are ginger tea, acupressure wristbands, and peppermint oil. Yet these
remedies can cause mild adverse reactions such as skin irritation due to the
wristbands or the intolerable taste of the ginger.
You do have other choices, however. Here's a short list of steps you can
take immediately to help relieve your morning sickness
- Eat frequent, smaller meals so you never feel too hungry or too full.
- Avoid fried or fatty foods.
- Eat crackers, bread, toast, cereal and other bland foods throughout the day.
Eat something from this list before you get out of bed in the morning.
- Drink plenty of fluids, especially between meals.
- Keep a record of your activities and the foods you eat in order to identify
what tends to trigger your nausea.
If these steps aren't helpful, then you might want to consider trying one of
natural remedies listed above. Let's take a closer look at these ...
Acupuncture
A very small percentage of pregnant women experience hyperemesis
gravidarium, which is a severe form of morning sickness that can result in
weight loss, dehydration, and potentially hospitalization. Several studies have
demonstrated that regular, several-times-a-day acupuncture sessions can be
helpful in minimizing this form of nausea and vomiting.
In addition, acupuncture wrist bands (also known as ‘sea bands’) that
stimulate the pericardium (p6) acupuncture point can be effective. The wrist
band consists of a plastic button that applies pressure on the p6 point inside
the wrist. This is a form of traditional Chinese medicine used to relieve
nausea, and it generally works immediately. You can find an acupuncture wrist
band online or at your local health food store. They're generally reasonably
priced.
Ginger
Ginger is a popular natural remedy for morning sickness. It's been used for
this purpose for centuries, and after numerous medical trials, is generally
recognized as safe. However, ginger does contain substances that can
potentially cause birth defects. For this reason, taking higher doses (over 500
mg) during pregnancy is generally unadvisable. In addition, there are concerns
that ginger can prolong bleeding time and interfere with platelet aggregation,
though studies focused on the first trimester found no notable difference in
the number or miscarriages, stillbirths and malformations.
Ginger is commonly taken in hot water as a tea. It can also be consumed as
ginger soda, gingersnaps or in capsule form.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Nausea can be minimized by using the aroma of peppermint. It's relatively
easy to create your own peppermint aroma bowl. Fill a large bowl with hot
water, add two drops of peppermint essential oil, and you're all set. Keep the
bowl on a nightstand near where you sleep and see if it doesn't help.
As with any medical treatment or natural remedy, always consult with your
physician first. Some natural remedies can work against medications, others can
have hidden side effects that your physician can caution you about.
David Silva is the webmaster for Alternative Medicine
First, a website dedicated to the dissemination of information about alternative medicine,
including various practices such as acupuncture, biofeedback, Traditional
Chinese Medicine, massage, yoga and others.
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