Coping with pregnancy sickness

Suffering from pregnancy sickness? The good news is that it's believed to be a sign of a well-established pregnancy; the bad news is it can really sap your energy and spoil the enjoyment of those early weeks. Here are some tried-and-tested tips for getting yourself over the worst.

Snack start

Waking with an empty stomach during pregnancy can make you feel quite queasy in the mornings - and getting out of bed feeling queasy can lead to retching, which is particularly unpleasant when there's nothing to come up.

A dry biscuit or cracker with a glass of water before you get out of bed in the morning can help to ease that first wave of nausea, so keep an airtight container of biscuits beside your bed.

A taste of ginger

There's plenty of evidence to support the use of ginger against nausea and sickness - and not just in pregnancy. You might find that eating ginger biscuits helps to stave off feelings of nausea (so you could choose these to keep by your bed - see above).

You can also buy herbal and fruit teas containing ginger, which are refreshing as well as caffeine-free and can help stop you feeling sick. If you enjoy carbonated drinks, ginger beer or ginger ale might help to settle your tummy.

Pressure power

Another anti-sickness remedy that's useful in pregnancy - and at other times - is acupressure. You can have it as a complementary therapy, but a cheaper alternative is to try the acupressure wrist bands you can buy from pharmacies and other health stores.

They're narrow stretchy fabric bands with a plastic button that you wear against a specific point inside your wrist. Applying pressure to this point helps to reduce feelings of nausea in some women. They're used for travel sickness, too.