What Helps With Pregnancy Nausea At Night
What Helps With Pregnancy Nausea At Night? It’s not easy being pregnant. Even if you’re lucky enough to be experiencing normal pregnancy symptoms like heartburn and morning sickness during the daytime, it can be downright miserable when those same discomforts crop up at night — especially if you were enjoying yourself until then! When nausea hits at night, relief isn’t necessarily on hand within arms’ reach. But don’t despair; there are plenty of ways around this problem that won’t make you feel any worse than you already do. Here are some tips to help with pregnancy nausea at night.
- Keep Simple Snacks At Your Bedside
- Don’t Eat Too Close To Bedtime
- Avoid Fatty Foods At Dinnertime
- Sip Ginger Tea At Bedtime
- Try An Aromatherapy Diffuser In Your Room
- Open A Window (Even Just A Crack) For Fresh Air
Eating is one way to relieve pregnancy-related discomfort, but if your stomach contents aren’t getting digested properly or quickly enough, other methods may prove more effective. If you find that you have trouble sleeping through the night because of nauseousness, try keeping a few simple snacks near your bed so you’ll always be ready to puke or burp. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy; maybe a banana, apple slices, toast cut into triangles, or even a bottle of water will work fine. The point is that you should keep something simple and lightweight in your immediate vicinity at all times. You could also chew sugarless gum throughout the evening to ease dry mouth issues related to nausea.
If your condition is severe enough to wake you from sleep while you’re lying down, see a doctor about taking medication to stop the vomiting and/or induce vomiting. Also, avoid eating too close to bedtime. This ensures that food gets to the stomach sooner instead of prolonging the process. And since digestion takes place over several hours, meals eaten closer together tend to stay in the gastrointestinal tract longer, which leads to increased discomfort.
And finally, if you suffer from nausea and/or vomiting late in pregnancy, be sure to steer clear of fatty foods such as fried chicken, ice cream, pizza, and other greasy fare. These items can cause gas buildups, which sometimes prompt painful bloating and flatulence. Stick to lean protein and vegetables for dinner, and save the unhealthy stuff for later in the day.
Sleep tight, stomach!
According to the Mayo Clinic, “A small study has shown that people who took aspirin every day had reduced risk of miscarriage compared with women who didn’t use aspirin.” So if you’ve been prescribed daily low-dose aspirin to prevent premature birth, consider making it part of your nightly regimen, too.
Don’t Sip Ginger Tea Late At Night…Early In The Morning Instead
Ginger root contains compounds called gingerols and shogaols, which act as antiemetics. According to WebMD, drinking hot ginger tea before bedtime can be helpful against nausea because the heat helps stimulate circulation to the area. Drinking ginger tea first thing in the morning stimulates gastric emptying, reducing the amount of time that your stomach stays full of food.
Try An Aromatherapy Diffuser In Your Room
An aromatherapy diffuser in your room might sound silly, but it can actually provide much needed fragrance relief. Citrus oils like lemon and lime, rosemary oil, lavender oil, chamomile, vanilla, and jasmine are known to calm upset stomachs. Plus, their scent can also mask unpleasant odors resulting from vomiting and diarrhea. One caveat: Make sure you give these essential oils a chance to kick in before going to bed, otherwise you may end up smelling like a hospital ward!
Open A Window (Even Just A Crack) To Get Some Fresh Air Into Your Room
There’s nothing quite like a little nighttime breeze after a nice meal, right? Unfortunately, though, opening windows can lead to unwanted side effects.
The sudden influx of oxygen can trigger headaches, dizziness, and lightheadedness, among others. However, if you have a real aversion to fresh air, you can try using a portable fan or hanging a stocking over your head to simulate the effect. Or you can simply open a window only slightly, allowing the warm air to flow inside without allowing the cold air out. Better yet, spend a couple minutes outside each night to enjoy some natural de-stressing.
Eating is the best way to alleviate pregnancy-related nausea. That said, there are some things you shouldn’t do, either. For example, don’t lie down immediately following a big meal. You want to wait 15 minutes or so to allow the digestive processes to complete themselves. And if you experience frequent bouts of nausea, you should consult your physician about whether or not you should be taking antinausea medications. You can usually tell whether you need them by how often you vomit.
Pregnancy-related nausea can range from mild to severe, depending on what stage of pregnancy you’re currently in. Always seek medical attention if you become overly ill, particularly if accompanied by fever or blood loss.
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