20 Morning Sickness Cures That Are Quick and Easy

We’ve got what you’re searching for: morning sickness cures that work.

Shortly after the initial thrill of pregnancy wears off, many women find themselves feeling off and searching for home morning sickness remedies.

Morning sickness is the nausea and vomiting that many women experience during pregnancy.

Although the name “morning” sickness seems like a cruel joke since most moms will tell you it is not limited to morning. While some woman may only have random bouts of queasiness, some experience constant nausea.

While the exact causes of morning sickness aren’t fully understood, it’s likely that increased hormone levels, changes to metabolism, and heightened sense of smell may all play a role.

This post has a lot of helpful information, it’s definitely a good one to pin now so you can come back and reference it later.

Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details.

What is Morning Sickness Like?

Every woman can experience morning sickness differently and to varying degrees. Some women only feel slightly nauseous for a few weeks, others may feel like they have a severe and unrelenting hangover for months.

Here are the most common morning symptoms:

• Nausea
• Vomiting (or dry heaving)
• Dehydration
• Food aversions
• Hypersensitivity to smells
• Weight loss
• Headaches

As previously mentioned, women may experience only one or even all of the symptoms. Some lucky ladies don’t suffer from any of them!

The term “morning” sickness can be misleading. Often the nausea will come unpredictably, sometimes lasting all day.

Nausea can be triggered by different smells (which you are often extra sensitive too), tastes, textures, temperatures, or even thoughts.

In very extreme cases, women experience very severe nausea and vomiting which can cause dehydration, weight loss, and electrolyte imbalances. If you are experiencing this type of morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum, seek medical treatment from your doctor right away.

Morning Sickness, When Does it Start?

Morning sickness usually begins around 4 – 6 weeks into pregnancy and tends to be most common during the first trimester.

It will often build up gradually in severity, beginning with more mild symptoms and reach a peak intensity around weeks 9-10.

When Does Nausea Stop During Pregnancy?

Luckily for most women, morning sickness generally resolves early in the second trimester.

Unfortunately for some very unlucky moms, it can last longer or even for the entire pregnancy.

When symptoms do subside, it is often something that happens gradually.

Slowly over the course of weeks you may begin to notice less and less symptoms of nausea.

Read  Picking Baby Names When You and Your Partner Don’t Agree
Read  Midwife vs. OB GYN: Which is the Best Option for You?

What Foods Are Good for Morning Sickness?

Here’s what to eat when you have morning sickness all day:

1 |  Protein

Eat more protein!

Though you may crave carb-heavy foods, try to make sure you’re still getting enough protein. Not only is protein important for your growing baby, but it may also help with morning sickness.

This study showed that women who ate a high protein meals reported decreased nausea.

Try eating some peanut butter or cheese with your crackers. (At least that helped Rachel!)

2 | Mint

Mint in many forms can provide wonderful pregnancy nausea relief.

The freshness has a cooling effect that actually relaxes the stomach muscles to get rid of that awful crampy and nauseous feeling. Try peppermint gum or mint tea.

Another great idea is Peppersmith Xylitol Mints. Not only will you get the morning sickness relief of the mint, but xylitol reduces the risk of plaque and tooth decay (which can be a concern during pregnancy).

Even just smelling fresh mint can provide instant relief.

3 | Frozen foods

Foods that are frozen (or even just very cold) make some of the best morning sickness cures.

Try watermelon cubes, frozen blueberries, popsicles, or frozen lemon water.

Another bonus is that these frozen treats are great ways to stay hydrated (which is important because you need to replace all those fluids you’ve thrown up).

4 | Ginger

Whether it be in a tea, candy, or chopped up into a stir fry – ginger is great for morning sickness relief.

Jo had AMAZING success with Ginger Tummydrops. They are the perfect mix of pleasant sweetness and sharp ginger flavor. Seriously couldn’t have survived my first pregnancy without them.

5 |  Tea

Drinking special tea for nausea can help you stay hydrated while also easing your stomach. Many women like ginger or peppermint tea for nausea, but there are also some teas specifically for morning sickness.

Pink Stork makes a wonderful morning sickness tea. Though it is ginger tea, they come in great flavors like peach and orange so you can pick which is most appealing. They’re also caffeine free.

Though, I did not find this until after my last pregnancy, I’ve heard many moms rave about it and it gets great reviews.

6 |  Drink Water (with a twist!)

It is super important to stay hydrated when you’re pregnant. While this will not exactly alleviate your morning sickness, you will feel much worse if you get dehydrated.

Unfortunately, it is very easy to become dehydrated when you’re puking your guts out. Or if you have a water aversion. My second pregnancy, plain water literally made me gag.

As a general rule of thumb, pregnant women should drink 10 cups of water each day. This can be a lot to keep down when you’re nauseous.

Some tips to help stay hydrated:

• Take small sips throughout the day
• Try ice cold, or if that doesn’t do it for you, try very hot water
• Add fruit for flavor
• Add lemon or lime juice
• Mix with other juices (while not ideal because juices are high in sugar, you gotta do what you gotta do)

7 |  Preggie Pop Drops

Preggie Pop Drops are hard candies infused with essential oils and they are a total lifesaver.

I really don’t know how I would have gotten through my first pregnancy without these bad boys and I carried them everywhere. The citrus flavors taste great and offer immediate nausea relief. They are a bit on the pricey side for me, but I did not even care. I would have bought these in bulk if I could have.

The only drawback was that the wrapper says “Preggie Pop Drops” and since I hadn’t told many people about my pregnancy yet, I was a little paranoid about anyone seeing the plastic. Aside from that, they were absolutely perfect.

8 |  Avoid Greasy and Spicy Foods

Greasy and spicy foods tend to be harder on your stomach and more likely to worsen your nausea.

It is in your best interest to steer clear of spicy foods if there is any chance that you will throw up. The burning coming back up is just not worth it.

That said, I found that when I was having a difficult time eating I could really only eat whatever seemed appetizing at that moment. If that was french fries (which it often was), oh well.

Read  Should Your Mom be in the Delivery Room?

Activities and Behaviors for Pregnancy Nausea Relief

Sometimes finding morning sickness relief doesn’t need to involve buying fancy foods or supplements.

There are many morning sickness cures that just involve modifying your current behaviors and maybe initiating a few new things into your routine.

9 | Stay Distracted

It may be tempting to lay down when you feel sick, but that generally only makes you feel worse.

Instead, it’s a far better idea to distract yourself.

Try picking up the phone and calling your bestie. Watch a trashy TV show while bouncing on an exercise ball.  Go to work rather than calling out.

Time will move faster when you’re distracted and allow the feeling to pass.

10 | Eat small amounts of food

Full tummies are a big no-no for morning sickness as it tends to intensify feelings of nausea. Similarly, it’s not a good idea to starve yourself and go hungry.

Instead, try to eat small meals and snacks throughout the day.

11 | Gentle exercise

No one feels like running a marathon when they’re feeling sick and nauseous, but going out for a light walk may be just the thing your body needs.

Exercise, even a gentle walk, can release endorphins to fight against those symptoms of morning sickness.

12 | Smelly lotions/face wash

This is one of the most underrated morning sickness cures!

Cleaning your face with a fresh scent can provide near instant nausea relief. It provides that immediate freshness that calms the system.

If you’re not at home, we particularly enjoy the fresh scent of the Herban Essentials Cleansing Towelettes. They come in a variety of scents (like lemon and mint) that can give you a fresh clean feeling on the go for instant morning sickness relief.

Another great idea is to keep some peppermint lotion on hand. If you’re around a foul smell you can cover your nose and replace it with a refreshing scent.

13 | Breakfast in Bed

We mentioned earlier the importance of not letting yourself go hungry. Unfortunately this can be a serious issue in the morning when you wake up… since you likely haven’t eaten in 7-8 hours.

The sudden motion of standing up can make you get very nauseous. To combat this, we recommend keeping a light, neutral snack (like saltines, pretzels , etc.) beside your bed.

When you wake up in the morning, pop a couple of crackers and wait a few minutes before getting up to settle your stomach.

Or if you wake up in the middle of the night and feel queasy, reach over for a few snacks before drifting back to sleep.

14 |  Acupressure bands

Acupressure bands, like the Sea-Bands, use a specific pressure point in the wrist to alleviate nausea. They were developed to help with motion sickness, but some women find that they help with morning sickness as well.

I tried these when I was going on a cruise while 13 weeks pregnant and still not feeling great. While I can’t say that they completely cured my nausea, I did think they provided some relief, especially since I’m a bit prone to motion sickness anyway. I wish that I had tried them sooner.

Given they are a minimal investment with so negative side effects, they are definitely worth a try.

15 |  Rest

Fatigue is extremely common during pregnancy, especially the first trimester. But it can also make your morning sickness even worse.

Getting enough rest can help you feel a bit better.

This is easier said than done, for sure, but make a point to rest whenever you can. Whether it’s going to bed earlier, sleeping in, or catching a nap on your lunch break, you my find that being well rested also keeps your nausea at bay.

Read  Baby Registry Must Haves: Breastfeeding Edition

Morning Sickness Medications and Supplements

Since morning sickness affects so many women, pregnancy nausea medication and supplements have become very popular.

Please be sure to talk to your doctor before starting any medications or supplements during pregnancy. They know your specific situation and can advise you on appropriate options.

16 |  B6 and Unisom

B6 is often recommended by OBs to combat nausea.

You can take B6 supplements like these or get it in a hard candy style B-Natal Lozenge.

I took the pill type and must admit that some days it was hard to swallow them.

The combination of B6 and Unisom (doxylamine succinate), a common sleep aid, is safe to take during pregnancy and can help both nausea and vomiting.

Since unisom can make you drowsy, it is best to take this before bedtime.

Talk to your doctor about appropriate dosing. You can also ask your doctor about Diclegis, which is a pregnancy category A prescription drug that combines B6 and doxylamine and is FDA approved to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Some women report better results with Diclegis than simply using the two over-the-counter versions, possibly because Diclegis releases the drugs over time.

17 | Ondansetron

Ondansetron (brand name Zofran) is the most popular anti-nausea medication out there. It’s prescribed to approximately 1 million pregnant women each year.

Ondansetron is highly effective, inexpensive, can be prescribed in liquid or tablet form (which dissolves under your tongue), and works by blocking the nausea-feeling receptors in your body.

However, there is some controversy surrounding its use in pregnant women as it is currently classified by the FDA is Pregnancy Category B (meaning there have been no well-controlled studies on its use and the effects in pregnant women).

A 2013 out of Denmark suggested that Ondansetron  is not associated with risk or adverse fetal outcomes (such as birth defects or spontaneous abortions).

However, other studies have linked its use to birth defects such as cardiac abnormalities and cleft palates.

In mothers who experience hyperemesis gravidarum (a form of very severe morning sickness), medications are often the only option for treatment. These mothers are at risk of dehydration, malnutrition, and electrolyte imbalance.

If you have further questions on Ondansetron or its use, we encourage you to speak with your doctor.

18 | PregEase

PregEase is an over-the-counter supplement that works to relieve both morning sickness and heartburn.

They come in chewable, orange-flavored tablets and contain no artificial dyes or preservatives. Some of their ingredients include Vitamins B12 and B6, calcium carbonate, and ginger.

PregEase works especially well when mom suffers from both heartburn and nausea. Some moms complain about the taste (as they are sweetened with stevia) but do admit they work better than Tums.

And one final note for allergy moms, they do contain seaweed so may have trace amounts of fish and/or shellfish. They also may contain trace amounts of wheat and soy.

19 |  Switch up your prenatal vitamins

Your prenatal vitamins could be making your morning sickness worse. Iron in particular can be hard on tummies.

If they aren’t going down easily or you think they’re making you more nauseous, try changing the time of day that you take them. RIght before bedtime or with a meal may be easier to handle.

If that doesn’t help, talk to your doctor about switching your prenatals. Gummy prenatal vitamins were my jam, but they usually do not have iron in them. You may be able to switch until your morning sickness passes, but check with your doctor first.

20 |  Tums

Tums are safe to take during pregnancy and can provide quick relief for upset stomach by neutralizing stomach acid.

You may have to find out which flavor you can handle best. For me, the Peppermint Smoothies Tums were the only type that did not make me gag and I loved them!

Popping a Tums first thing in the morning really helped and I kept them on hand just in case that empty tummy queasiness hit.

As an added bonus, Tums give you some extra calcium.

We hope you can find some relief with these morning sickness cures and remedies!

If you’ve tried some of them, what ended up working for you? What didn’t work?

Definitely remember to pin this now so you can easily refer back to it later. Until next time!