What To Eat with Pregnancy Nausea
If you’re dealing with pregnancy nausea, you’re not alone! Morning sickness it’s rough (if this is you right now, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this!).
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) impact up to 70% of pregnant individuals. It usually starts around week 6 and peaks between weeks 10-16.
It’s really normal to feel frustration, discomfort, and disappointment, especially if it’s impacting what you’re able to eat all day long.
In this blog post, we'll explore common questions surrounding NVP and offer practical nutrition-based strategies for alleviating symptoms. You can also download the free Nausea Nutrition Guide for more support on optimizing your nutrition even with nausea.
What causes nausea during pregnancy?
The exact causes of NVP are unknown, but various factors, including changes in hormones, odor sensitivity, and gastrointestinal issues have been associated with nausea during pregnancy. Recent research shows it’s likely that hormone changes are playing the biggest role.
How pregnancy hormones may trigger nausea
The following hormonal changes during pregnancy may lead to an increase in nausea and vomiting:
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG): Produced by the placenta, hCG protects the corpus luteum (a temporary hormonal producer in the ovary that supports early pregnancy). It may influence the gastrointestinal system sensitivity and the brain’s response to certain smells, potentially leading to NVP.
Estrogen: Dramatically increasing to support fetal development and prepare the body for birth, estrogen affects the gastrointestinal system, slowing digestion and increasing stomach acidity, potentially causing NVP.
Progesterone: Increasing to relax uterine muscles and prevent premature contractions, progesterone may also relax gastrointestinal muscles, leading to slower digestion and gastric reflux.
Fetal Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15): Increases significantly during early pregnancy, GD15 may be associated with the severity of nausea and vomiting during this time depending on pre-pregnancy exposure.
What if I experience nausea throughout my entire pregnancy? Or never?
While some individuals may experience nausea and vomiting throughout their entire pregnancy, others do not experience these symptoms at any point during gestation.
It's important to note that experiencing NVP throughout the full pregnancy or not experiencing it at all is not a cause for concern. Some people with healthy pregnancies never experience NVP, while others do throughout their entire pregnancy.
What can I eat to help alleviate nausea?
There are various strategies that may reduce NVP, with nutrition playing a significant role.
Certain dietary strategies that may help alleviate symptoms include:
Eating small, frequent meals: Consuming smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day can reduce symptoms of nausea and vomiting by avoiding an empty stomach (feeling like you get a little hungry then BAM, super hungry and nauseous? That’s what we want to avoid!). Here’s the key, though: try to make sure your small meals are still meals. If you can tolerate it, include some protein, fat, and fibre in your mini-meal.
Start with protein: Even if this feels counter-intuitive, blood sugar spikes and dips can worsen and trigger nausea, so starting the day and each meal with what I call a “friendly” protein can work wonders.
Eat to a 6: What do I mean by this? If you think about your hunger and fullness on a scale of 1-10, we want to stick to a mid-point so that you don’t get overly full, which can trigger nausea the same way getting overly hungry can.
Prioritizing balanced meals and snacks: Aim for meals and snacks with proteins, carbohydrates, and fats can help stabilize blood sugar levels, reducing nausea and vomiting. There are lots of great recipe ideas that focus on this in The Food Doula Cookbook!
Staying hydrated: Dehydration can worsen nausea, so ensure you stay hydrated by sipping on water, bone broth, or herbal teas regularly. Electrolytes can make a huge difference in both your hydration (with or without vomiting), and in curbing your nausea. Here’s the one I recommend (Save 20% with code THEFOODDOULA).
Choosing bland, room temperature or cold, easily digestible foods: These foods are gentle on the stomach and less likely to trigger discomfort. If you can’t stomach your usual go-tos like proteins and veggies, try them cold!
Adding ginger: With its anti-nausea properties, ginger has been shown to significantly relieve NVP. Add fresh ginger to teas, smoothies, or meals, or try candies to alleviate symptoms.
Not a ginger fan? Try Peppermint or Lemon instead, which may also be effective in relieving nausea. You can brew up a tea of peppermint or lemon balm, or even diffuse the air around you with essential oils (or just cut up a lemon and let it hang out near you!)
Avoiding trigger foods: Certain foods and smells can exacerbate nausea and/or vomiting. Pay attention to your body's cues and avoid foods that trigger discomfort.
What if I’m eating the same things over and over? Or I can only stomach unhealthy foods?
Calories, regardless of their source, are the most important aspect of nutrition during pregnancy. Even if the things you can tolerate now don’t seem ‘healthy’ to you, they’re still providing needed calories, macro and micro nutrients for you and your baby.
Eating any food, even if it’s just a bagel for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is better than skipping meals and snacks entirely. We’re not aiming for perfection, but rather making the best choices with what’s available and possible for you in this moment.
Remember, this phase will pass, and you’ll have the opportunity to diversify the food on your plate later. For now, eat what you can, and I recommend continuing to take your prenatal vitamins daily if you can tolerate them.
Should I go to the doctor for my nausea during pregnancy?
While nausea during pregnancy is common, severe or persistent symptoms may indicate a more serious condition such as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). Although HG is less common, affecting fewer than 3% of pregnant individuals, it's still something to be cautious about.
If you experience severe vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, or inability to keep food or liquids down, I recommend meeting with your healthcare provider to be safe. HG is the leading cause of hospitalization in early pregnancy. I don’t say this to scare you, but to provide information to help you make empowered and informed decisions.
What can I eat to make my nausea-friendly meals more nutrient-dense?
My Pregnancy Nausea Nutrition Guide (bonus: it’s free!) is tailored just for you! It offers practical strategies beyond what we've discussed here like how to enhance nutrition intake while managing nausea, what to eat to alleviate discomfort, and ideas for tolerable proteins. When you feel better, you can eat better!