by Tony Luck

The dreaded 'morning sickness', extreme nausea and vomiting,
will affect around 90% of pregnant women. Despite the name,
morning sickness can strike at any time of day, so if you get
through the early morning without feeling nauseous, it may get
you later in the day! Just why women have to go through this is
not known - maybe because men haven't bothered to find out!
However, there are some things you can do to minimise this
unpleasant part of pregnancy.

1. Ask your medical advisor whether you can take vitamin B6. A
dose of approximately 100 mg per day has been shown to reduce
the feeling of nausea.

2. Eat foods rich in the B vitamins: examples are nuts, chicken,
fish, liver and advocados.

3. Take frequent sips of liquids such as water, soup, tea, and
lemonade. This can help in several ways: when you vomit you
loose a lot of fluids and it is important to keep your body
hyderated at all times. It also makes vomiting less unpleasant
if you have something to bring up. Vomiting when the stomach is
empty is even more unpleasant than when you have something to
bring up.

4. Avoid foods with strong smells such as spicy or fried foods
as such dishes can make you feel queasy and induce vomiting.

5. Snack little and often. When you go to bed place biscuits or
muffins at your bedside and nibble these if you wake in the
night.

6. Foods high in carbohydrates are more likely to stay down and
will ward off hunger. Recommended foods are breads, rice and
pasta.

7. If you don't feel like eating, don't. If eating will make you
feel queasy and cause you to vomit, there is no point. You will
not benefit nutritionally if the food comes straight back up.

Morning sickness is the least enjoyable part of being pregnant.
How long it lasts varies from women to women. Just keep
reminding yourself that it will end.

About the author:
Tony Luck runs a web site with advice about having babies. The
site also includes the famous http://www.baby-talk.co.uk/chinese_calendar.htm
Chinese Pregnancy chart which predicts whether the baby you are
expecting will be a girl or a boy.