How can I prevent sick stomach nausea

Although it is often called 'morning sickness', during pregnancy you may feel sick to your stomach at any time during the day or even all day long. It usually goes away by the end of the 3rd or 4th month.

What to do to prevent it:

• Drink a cup of ginger or cinnamon tea 2 or 3 times a day, before meals.
• Eat small meals often, and avoid foods that are oily or hard to digest.
• Lick a lemon.
• Ask the midwives in your community for good local plant medicines or remedies.
• To help with morning sickness, try eating a biscuit, a tortilla, a piece of bread, a chapati, or a little rice or porridge when you wake up in the morning.

IMPORTANT: See a health worker if you vomit so much that you cannot keep any food down, or if you are losing weight. Also watch for signs of dehydration, such as: thirst, little or no urine, dry mouth, feeling dizzy when standing up, loss of stretchiness of the skin (if you lift the skin between two fingers and the fold does not fall right back to normal, the person is dehydrated). If someone has these signs and is also vomiting, she needs liquids in the vein (IV) or in the rectum. Get medical help fast. Severe dehydration is an emergency.

Sources

• Felicitas Heyne, Psychologist
• Audiopedia ID: en010708