No one can prepare you for how tired and nauseous you may feel during early pregnancy. Take heart in the fact that feeling this way is completely normal. And considered a sign of a strong pregnancy.

Morning sickness is experienced by 90 per cent of women during their pregnancy and may be unavoidable due to the massive hormonal changes taking place. In approximately 60 per cent of women, morning sickness will resolve by the end of the first trimester (peaking at weeks 9-10 and subsiding at around 12-14 weeks); and if it doesn’t, only 9 per cent of women experience it past 20 weeks.

To figure out the best way to manage your morning sickness, the first step is to observe what triggers it.

Is it strong odours? Time of day? Getting out of bed too quickly? Specific foods? Movement? Allowing yourself to get too hungry? Overeating? Undereating? Imbalanced meals? Eating too fast? Drinking too much fluid at mealtimes? Are you dehydrated?

Sipping water can help.

When you start to feel nauseas or morning sick, ensure you are hydrated—make sure you are drinking enough water (40ml/kg body weight). Sipping water can help relieve nausea, heartburn, acidity and indigestion.

Eating can help.

Small frequent meals, or simply a succession of nutritious snacks, will help keep your blood sugar levels stable and thereby relieve the feelings of morning sickness.

In fact, a drop in blood sugar can exacerbate symptoms. Avoid reaching for refined or sugary snacks and instead reach for complex carbohydrates — cooked sweet potato, brown, rice, whole fruit, a smoothie. If you can keep these down, try following it with a small portion of protein or fat-containing foods to stabilise your blood sugar, such as nuts, cheese, avocado, Greek yoghurt, scrambled eggs or bone broth.

To help combat pregnancy nausea you could: 

1. Eat small meals often i.e. every 2-3 hours, and avoid going for long periods without food. 

2. Include protein with every meal and snack (where possible).

3. Eat protein last thing at night e.g. nuts, fish, whole grains, yoghurt. Protein rich foods take longer to digest and keep blood sugar levels stable until morning.

4. Get lots of sleep to avoid fatigue.

5. Avoid spicy, fatty or greasy foods as these are harder to digest and can trigger nausea. 

6. Ginger has been used for centuries to ease nausea. Use it in cooking, drink ginger tea or add fresh ginger to warm lemon water, chew on crystallised ginger, or take ginger capsules (it’s considered safe to take up to 250mg of ginger every 6 hours). 

7. Herbal teas can alleviate symptoms once nausea starts. Try Ginger, Peppermint, Spearmint, Aniseed, Clove, Chamomile, Lemon Balm, Meadowsweet and Raspberry tea. As with anything, drink these teas in moderation.

8. Try drinking a capful of apple cider vinegar throughout the day.

9. Consider taking some Swedish bitters to improve your digestion of protein, fats and carbohydrates.

10. Eat something simple before you get up. Keep some seed or wholegrain crackers or almonds on your bedside table, as well as in your bag, to nibble during the day. (Almonds are good for controlling blood sugar levels).

11. Arise slowly on waking.

12. Eat slowly and mindfully.

13. Eat dry toast or crackers (preferably wholegrain varieties).

14. Try sour or salty foods such as lemon water, avocado with salt and lemon juice, unsweetened dried cherries or try our recipe for Tart Cherry Gummies.

15. Avoid strong smelling foods (let someone else cook for you or if the smell of cooked food is too much for you to stomach, try eating cold foods).

16. Avoid drinking too much liquid at meal times.

17. Consume carbonated beverages, like soda water (not soft drink).

18. Ensure you’re drinking plenty of water throughout the day. 2-4 litres a day including herbal tea or warm lemon water.

19. If you can’t stomach much liquid, try sucking on homemade fruit lollies or popsicles. Some women find sucking on a lemon helpful.

20. Avoid coffee, tea or milk when nauseated.

21. Enjoy some cardiovascular exercise. Go for a walk or take a yin yoga or pilates class.

22. Get fresh air regularly throughout the day.

23. Burn aromatherapy lavender and peppermint essential oils (both are safe during pregnancy).

24. Increase your intake of ‘activated’ vitamin B6: take 10-30mg every 8 hours (it is safe to take up to 250mg of vitamin B6 daily in the first trimester).

25. Munch on foods high in vitamin B6 such as avocados, bananas, pistachios and sunflower seeds.

26. Some women find magnesium lessens their morning sickness. You can take a magnesium supplement (in tablet or powder form), use a topical magnesium spray, or enjoy a relaxing bath or foot spa with Epsom salts. 

27. Zinc deficiency is associated with morning sickness. Either increase the amount you are supplementing (20-60mg per day is safe) or eat zinc-rich foods i.e. ginger is a good source of zinc as are chickpeas, lentils, seeds, nuts and eggs.

28. A chromium deficiency may contribute to morning sickness. Choose broccoli, potato, green beans, apples, bananas, wholegrains, Greek yoghurt to rectify this. Chromium is particularly good when sugar cravings are strong.

29. Minimise exposure to stress as this has been shown to worsen symptoms.

30. Acupressure or acupuncture is effective for some women. The most commonly used pressure point is located on the wrist, called P6 or Nei Guan. P6 is located 3-fingers-distance below the crease of your wrist on your inner arm. Sea-Band manufactures wristbands designed to put pressure on this exact spot.

31. Homeopathy is effective for some women in alleviating nausea. Commonly used homeopathic remedies are nux vomica 30c, pulsatilla 30c, and ipecac 30c, however remedies are best prescribed by a professional, registered homeopath.

32. A qualified natural health practitioner may be able to prescribe Traditional Chinese Herbs to help alleviate symptoms.

If and when you throw up, be sure to replenish lost fluids and electrolytes with homemade bone broth, coconut water or make your own hydrating pregnancy drink.

You could also try adding mineral citrates (magnesium, potassium, sodium) to help replace lost electrolytes. Mineral tissue salts can also be helpful, especially if your stomach acid levels are low following bouts of vomiting.

Other foods helpful at this time include foods rich in: 

• potassium — avocados, bananas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and oranges

• magnesium — seaweed, green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, chia seeds, avocados, unsweetened cacao powder, bone broth and green herbs including chives, coriander, parsley, mint, dill, sage and basil

If you're vomiting frequently throughout the day and unable to hold food or water down, you may be experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that affects 2 per cent of women that ultimately requires hospital treatment to avoid dangerous levels of dehydration. 

In any case, hang in there. The human body is incredible and, even though you might not be able to eat the nutrient-dense foods you know are important to your and your baby’s health right now, trust that your body can handle the demands of pregnancy and will draw on your nutrient reserves in the meantime.

They say morning sickness is a sign of a strong pregnancy and is associated with a decreased risk of miscarriage. So, even when you're feeling lousy, take heart in that knowledge. 

N.B. This information is designed to be used in conjunction with, and is not a substitute for, the advice of your doctor or health care practitioner.