My Top Tips for Morning Sickness & HG

There were some very dark days during my pregnancy. I took pleasure in the little things to keep me going, like flowers <3

During my pregnancy last year, I suffered from severe morning sickness (also known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or HG) for over 6 months. It tore me down, wrecked my body and challenged me beyond what I had ever experienced before.

I consider myself lucky as I was only hospitalised 4 times, and medication seemed to help reduce the vomiting. I'm sharing my experience after speaking to some others whom told me they felt just as alone as me and have struggled to find others to speak to. These are my top tried and tested tips to get you through the vomiting, nausea and the emotional and mental toll as well.

Please note, I am not a medical professional, so please speak to your midwife or doctor to seek medical advice.

Tip 1: Never let yourself get hungry
This means eat regularly and snack often. I mean this when I say you need to eat something every 90 minutes when you are awake. If you let yourself get even a little bit hungry, then the nausea will arrive and its closely followed with vomiting. When I was at work I had a snack drawer so I never had the excuse to not eat. For me, rice crackers and ginger nuts were great. They're small, and gave me the choice of a savoury and sweet option and both are nice on the stomach. Rice crackers are also gentle on the stomach post vomiting too. Get snacks you like as this means you will actually eat them!


Tip 2: When you wake up - Eat!
Further to the above tip, when you wake up, try to eat something within the first 15 minutes of waking up. This kick starts your metabolism, and also avoids the nausea starting early. For me, this was crucial as if I forgot, the nausea would be with me all day no matter what I did. Breakfast is key and make it a good filling one to keep you going.


Tip 3: Make your own smoothies
I became a smoothie fan during my pregnancy. I made one every morning for me to have after my breakfast during the morning to keep me going and avoid the feeling of hunger. I made sure to make it with flavours I liked rather than going all green. Yes you want nutrients, but you also want to enjoy the food you eat as the vomiting can often lead to you hating the idea of eating. So I made mine with banana, greek yoghurt, frozen berries, chia seeds and some spinach. I love berries and I liked the texture bananas gave the smoothie, so this worked well for me. Play around with flavours that you like and make you feel good.


Tip 4: Powerade is your best friend
After every vomit I felt so weak and dehydrated, but when I was at work I needed to be able to carry on and get on with the work day. I purchased some Powerade powder, you can find this at the supermarket, and mixed this to the strength I wanted. This was very handy when I was at work as it gave me a boost after vomiting and some much needed energy to carry on with the work day. I also drank it on the weekends to keep myself replenished and hydrated. Powerade was recommended to me by a doctor after my first hospitalisation to keep my fluids and electrolytes up.


Tip 5: When you feel good go out and be social
It's so easy to hide away and not see anyone when you feel unwell. It's even easier when your sickness is chronic and you feel like there is no end. When my vomiting was bad, I hid away and didn't want to leave the house. When I felt ok, my husband pushed me to leave the house and for us to go out and do things. Whether this was going out for brunch, a walk, shopping or seeing friends. It might sound obvious, but when your in that mindset it is so easy to hid away and not want to see anyone. When you feel ok, go out, when you don't feel nauseous, go out for a meal and enjoy it. My husband and I used to love going out for brunch and it was ruined by my constant vomiting whenever we went out. So we learnt to go out for lunch or an early dinner instead as I tended to be a bit better in the afternoons.


Tip 6: Listen to your body
Again, another one that seems obvious, but it can be so easy to just let the vomiting keep happening and not going to see anyone about it. I was really bad at letting the vomiting continue for almost days before I went to the doctor. I was stubborn and thought I could fix it myself. Rule of thumb, if you've been vomiting for more than 9 hours and can't keep any food or water down, go to the doctor or emergency room. Nine hours of vomiting is a long time for your body, and the baby, to go without food and water. The doctor will help get some much needed fluids into you and try to manage the vomiting. Listen to you body, and take care of it. Its not just you to think about anymore, you have a mini-me growing inside of you <3


Tip 7: Try your best to enjoy the special moments
Throughout pregnancy there are special moments that every Mum remembers. These can be clouded when you have severe morning sickness and don't have the energy to enjoy them. When you're having a scan, hearing the heartbeat or when baby kicks, enjoy the moment. Take a breath to enjoy it and remember it. Then when things get hard, tap into those happy pregnancy memories to remind you what its all for. A friend suggested this to me and it worked wonders. I wish I had done this early on in my pregnancy, I only started to do it towards the end!


Tip 8: Speak to someone 
It's not just the vomiting and nausea, you will likely be feeling low and not yourself. Being constantly ill can put a strain on your mental health, add pregnancy hormones and other symptoms its natural to not feel yourself. For me, I started to resent my pregnancy and hated being pregnant. I made the mistake of leaving it too long until I spoke to someone about how I felt. Please speak to someone, whether this is a friend, your midwife, your partner, your Mum. Someone you trust and feel comfortable to speak too. Your mind is just as important as your body, make sure to take care of that too!

I hope my tips help you get through the dark days and embrace the good ones. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences so we can support each other x

Love Mrs R x

Please note, I am not a medical professional, so please speak to your midwife or doctor to seek medical advice.