How to Get Rid of Morning Sickness: 10 Home Remedies That Really Work
How to get rid of morning sickness with home remedies (and without a prescription) — what really works and what doesn’t if you’re experiencing a tough pregnancy!
How to Get Rid of Morning Sickness without a Prescription
When you’re in the throws of morning sickness, the accompanying symptoms (nausea, vomiting, fatigue) can be extremely debilitating. It can be difficult to handle your normal daily routine, take care of the kids, or function at a job.
For many women, the symptoms of morning sickness lessen after the first trimester. However, for others those symptoms can stretch halfway through a pregnancy, or longer.
My morning sickness usually lets up a little after four months, but I still have occasional symptoms after that. If you’re like me, you’re probably willing to try just about anything to get rid of that awful feeling!
What Causes Morning Sickness?
During the first trimester, our bodies experience a rapid increase in hormones. This causes symptoms of nausea and vomiting in over half of pregnant women.
While extremely inconvenient and uncomfortable for the mother, morning sickness is a good sign that the placenta and baby are developing.
However, if you experience excessive vomiting to the point where you cannot keep any food or liquid down, you may have a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum. See your doctor or midwife right away.
What Weeks is Morning Sickness the Worst?
According to the March of Dimes, about 7 in 10 women suffer from at least some degree of nausea during pregnancy and/or vomiting during pregnancy.
Morning sickness may start as early as the 6th week of pregnancy, reach it’s peak around week 9, and resolve by week 13-14 when the second trimester starts.
However, some women may experience these unpleasant symptoms throughout their entire pregnancy. Some may experience no symptoms at all.
Is It Normal to Feel Sick All Day While Pregnant?
Despite what the name implies, nausea and vomiting can happen at any time of day or night while you’re pregnant.
I don’t know why they call it “morning sickness,” because for both of my pregnancies it was more like “all-day everyday sickness!”
That’s why I was so determined to find a way to feel better!
10 Home Remedies for Morning Sickness
I’ve compiled a list of all the home remedies for morning sickness that I’ve tried throughout two pregnancies – with detailed descriptions of what worked and what didn’t.
Keep in mind that what worked for me might not work as well for you, and vice-versa. That’s why I’ve presented as many options as possible so you can try for yourself.
Hopefully your discover something new that helps you get the morning sickness relief you need!
Note: I’ve included shop-able ad links to products that I love and that helped me get rid of morning sickness symptoms; read our full disclosure policy here.
1. Get a Full Night’s Sleep…and Then Some!
Days where I didn’t sleep well the night before were the days that I felt the worst.
However, if I got a full 7-8 hours of sleep, I felt substantially better the next day.
I know as a busy mom or if you work outside the home, it feels tough to get everything done during the day and go to bed on time. But it is so important to make self-care a priority, and sleep is one of the best things you can do for yourself during pregnancy.
I enlisted my husband’s help to get it done – I feel like it was a fair trade for me to get the sleep since I was growing the baby!
Usually I am the one to get up first in the morning to get our oldest daughter ready for school, but while I am pregnant we switch. My husband gets up for the school morning routine and I get an extra hour of sleep. That extra hour makes a huge difference!
2. Nap When You Need To
Piggy-backing on the topic of a good night’s sleep, napping is also helpful to get rid of morning sickness.
Another common symptom of morning sickness during pregnancy is fatigue, and sometimes this is extreme in the first trimester.
Listen to your body!
If your body is telling you “I need to lie down NOW” – do it!
I found that when I tried to push through my fatigue, I felt terrible for the rest of the day — not only exhausted, but nauseous as well.
On the flip side, when I started to feel nauseous, if I immediately got into bed or laid down on the couch, I could stave off the worst of the nausea before it got to the point of throwing up.
So if you start to feel queasy, a short nap is an effective way to get back on track and feel better again.
Related: Click here to see my picks for the best pregnancy pillow so you can sleep better!
3. Take Your Vitamins
When you’re trying to conceive or first find out that you’re expecting, your doctor will surely tell you to take your prenatal vitamins.
Prenatal vitamins are critical both for healthy development of your growing baby, but also your own health, as the baby takes your own nutrients.
Remembering to take your vitamins can also help ease morning sickness, as the B vitamins are shown to relieve certain symptoms. In fact, Vitamin B6 is one of the main components in the prescription morning sickness medication Diclectin® (more on that later in the post).
When taking your vitamins, timing is everything! Taking them at the wrong time can actually make you feel worse, so follow these tips for best results:
- Don’t take your vitamins on an empty stomach, as this may cause you to feel sick or throw up (losing all those nutrients!)
- If taking a capsule or pill, try taking immediately before bed. This helped me during my first pregnancy, when my vitamins often made me feel more nauseous. I didn’t feel sick if I was sleeping.
- Trouble swallowing pills? Try a gummy vitamin that tastes great and is easy to get down.
- If taking one vitamin a day is too intense (this sometimes made me feel nauseous with my first pregnancy), try a lower dose vitamin that you take multiple times a day. I love SmartyPants Prenatal Complete Gummy Vitamins because the daily serving size is 6 chewable gummies. They taste delicious and I can spread them throughout the day.
Related: 15 Things to Do When You Find Out You’re Pregnant
4. Drink Lots of Water
When I felt especially nauseous, I didn’t want to eat or drink anything.
However, dehydration can exacerbate morning sickness symptoms, making you feel even worse, so it is crucial to drink enough liquids.
If plain water isn’t appetizing, try flavored water (look for sugar free options) or sparkling water.
One of my favorite combinations is fresh lemonade and sparkling water – it tastes amazing (so I can get t it down), and the sparkling water cuts the sugar content in half.
Avoid caffeine — as it is a diuretic and makes it more difficult to stay hydrated. One cup of coffee or tea is generally considered safe during pregnancy (I relied on my one cup to get through the work day with my first baby!) However, if you do indulge, be sure to drink plenty of water too!
Interestingly, with my next pregnancy, I couldn’t even go near coffee (sad face) because just the thought of it made me want to throw up!
5. Ginger
Ginger is one of the most common suggestions to help get rid of morning sickness, and there are a few different ways to add ginger to your daily diet:
- Eating crystalized ginger or ginger candy
- Adding grated ginger root or syrup to hot tea
- Taking in capsule form (always consult your doctor before starting a new supplement)
I’ve taken ginger throughout both of my pregnancies, but noticed little relief (if any). However, it has been used and recommended as a natural way to get rid of morning sickness for centuries, so it may work better for you. Definitely worth a try!
Related: Try my recipe for flu-fighting tea, which contains a generous helping of crystalized ginger!
6. Morning Sickness Tea
Whether you make your own at home (see my recipe above) or purchase, a decaf morning sickness tea can work wonders!
My “secret Santa” this year gifted me with tin of morning sickness tea and I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed the flavor, it helped me get another glass of liquids, and I actually felt like it helped stop morning sickness almost immediately. (The effects didn’t last forever, but it was helpful when I felt symptoms start).
Try this: Secrets of Tea No to Morning Sickness Tea (I loved it!)
7. More (or Less) Physical Activity
Depending on your body, getting out and getting active might be a helpful way to relieve morning sickness. With my first pregnancy, I took daily walks and practiced light yoga during the first trimester.
However, this time around, exercise of any kind made me feel horrible. So I listened to my body and rested instead.
Once I was out of the first trimester, I slowly reintroduced exercise (my usual twice-weekly yoga classes, with modifications).
Pay attention to what your body tells you — whether it is to move around or get more rest.
I know that it is difficult when you’re an active person and used to working out frequently to just stop for three months. But I promise when your body is ready you’ll be able to move around again.
8. Essential Oils
Three of the most common essential oils used to help relieve nausea are lemon, peppermint, and lavender. Here’s how I used them throughout my pregnancy to help get rid of morning sickness symptoms:
- Lemon — Add a couple drops of lemon essential oil to hot tea or your water bottle.
- Peppermint — Rub a couple drops of peppermint essential oil onto wrists, hold under your nose and take 5 deep breaths. I especially love the “Breathe” blend by DoTerra for my controlled breathing exercises.
- Lavender — Add 3-5 drops of lavender essential oil to an aromatherapy diffuser. Lavender is also shown to help promote restful sleep, so I like to use it at night.
Click here to shop DoTerra essential oils or create your own wholesale account and save on regular orders! (like you would at a Sam’s Club or other wholesale stores).
Related: My Favorite 12 Practical Everyday Essential Oil Uses
9. Preggie Pop Drops
I only recently discovered these little gems — and while I’m glad I finally tried them, I wish I’d found them sooner!
Preggie Pop Drops are sour hard candies that contain a proprietary blend of essential oils to help get rid of morning sickness.
I’ve found that they help with nausea and motion sickness when we’re in the car, as my sensitivity to “car sickness” seems to be higher when I’m pregnant. Plus they taste fantastic (unlike ginger candies)!
I always keep a couple of them in my purse for emergencies.
10. Take 1/2 Unisom Sleep Tab at Night
In 2013, the FDA re-approved Diclectin® (formerly known as Bendectin), the only prescription medication approved to treat morning sickness. This drug was banned in the United States for almost 30 years, but after extensive studies is again deemed safe by the FDA. It was, however, available in most of the rest of world during this time.
When I was pregnant in 2013, my midwife recommended taking 1/2 of a Unisom Sleep Tab at night to help relieve my debilitating morning sickness. Not only did this reduce my nausea, but it also helped me sleep through the night, so I felt more rested and less sick the following day.
I tried almost all home remedies for morning sickness, but it was the Unisom that was my lifesaver!
Why does Unisom work to get rid of morning sickness?
Both Unisom and the prescription medication Diclectin® contain the active ingredient Doxylamine Succinate (an antihistamine), which is shown to dramatically reduce symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnant women. Diclectin® also contains Vitamin B6.
Unisom Sleep Tabs (not the gels) contain 25 mg of Doxylamine Succinate, which the prescription Diclectin® contains 10mg. This is why the recommendation is to take half of a Unisom Sleep Tab to get a similar dose.
Note: Unisom also sells sleep gels, which additionally contain what is essentially Benadryl. Benadryl is a schedule B drug, and while is usually considered safe for pregnant women, this combination is not the recommended medication to deal with morning sickness.
While Doxylamine Succinate is classified a Schedule A drug (safe) for pregnant women, it is important to check with your doctor or midwife before starting any Unisom regimen.
How Can I Overcome Morning Sickness?
If you’d like to try any of the home remedies I discussed in this post, here are links to find them and purchase them online:
- Unisom Sleep Tabs
- Preggie Pop Drops
- Crystalized Ginger
- SmartyPants Prenatal Complete Gummy Vitamins
- Secrets of Tea No to Morning Sickness Tea
- Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser (I bought one for each room because it was such a good price!)
- DoTerra Essential Oils (I chose the wholesale membership to save money on my essential oil purchases, since I order regularly).
Disclaimer: This post is based on my own personal experience; I am not a medical professional. Always consult your doctor or midwife with specific pregnancy-related questions.
Do you have any tricks that helped you get rid of morning sickness? Share them in the comments below!
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Nausea is a common symptom of conditions, including pregnancy, the flu, appendicitis, and even stress. Nausea has a way of upsetting our day like nothing else.
Such a great information for pregnant women. Worth to try! Thanks for sharing.