Morning sickness is the most difficult aspect of pregnancy for many women: It can run the gamut from mild nausea to disabling bouts of vomiting, wreaking havoc on your days.
It's believed that morning sickness is caused by an increase in estrogen levels. If you are having double (or triple) the babies, you're likely to have double the morning sickness as well.
Symptoms usually start to fade by week 14, but it's not unheard of for the nausea to continue even further into the pregnancy.
You may not be able to gain complete relief from your symptoms, but the following home remedies may help:
Doxylamine with vitamin B6
Doxylamine is simply an antihistamine (it's the ingredient that makes Unisom work). It's usually available over the counter, but ask your doctor to make sure you get the right dose!
Ginger
Ginger is not only effective in tea form, but also when you take the powder as a capsule, or even crystallized ginger. Relief may not be immediate, but you should see some improvement in a day or so.
Snacks
Keeping a small amount of food in your stomach may seem counterintuitive when you are throwing up, but many women find that it actually helps to settle their tummies.
Rest
Make sure you are getting adequate rest, and take a break when you need it. Fatigue can make your symptoms worse.
Acupressure
Pressure firmly placed on the P6 point (the inner side of your arm, in line with your middle finger and one-sixth of the way between your wrist and elbow), relieves nausea for some women. You can purchase special acupressure bands at most drugstores.
© 2008, Megan Southwick and ePregnancy.com