Nausea is one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy, which happily fades of its own accord somewhere around the beginning of the second trimester (around week 12) for most women. It is often called morning sickness, which is a complete misnomer, as it can occur at any time of day.

Some consider this nausea to be a protective factor, discouraging the mother from ingesting anything potentially dangerous to the developing fetus.

There are some things that are known to make nausea worse. For many women, being hungry (low blood sugar) paradoxically triggers nausea, so try carrying around some bland food items to chew on, like crackers or rice puffs. If you find that nausea is worst in the morning (which is after a long period of fasting when your blood sugar levels are lowest), be prepared with a few crackers or some sweetened tea on your nightstand to raise your blood sugar first thing after waking up. Try to eat more frequent, but smaller meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels even. Also make sure you get enough protein, and that your meals are balanced between carbohydrate and protein content.

Pregnant women are generally more sensitive to smells and tastes, which also means that strong smells and tastes are now more likely to make you gag. Avoiding trigger smells/tastes and keeping up good oral hygiene (brushing your teeth) could help you with this problem. Also consider mints or chewing gum to drown out unpleasant smells and tastes.

Iron, which can be found in high concentrations in most prenatal vitamin formulations, can also cause nausea. If you notice that your nausea peaks right after taking your prenatal vitamin (regardless of the time of day when you take it), consider switching to a formulation with less iron, or taking folic acid supplements in addition to consuming a varied diet instead of taking a prenatal vitamin supplement. Folic acid is the only supplement that has actually been shown to prevent fetal abnormalities.

Some anti-nausea remedies:

Mint. Peppermint especially is known to settle the stomach. Try drinking it in tea form, or take it as candy, or chewing gum, whatever works best.

Ginger. Fresh ginger is best, but in a pinch, ginger ale may work, too.

Water. Keeping hydrated is important anyway, but the feeling of a dry mouth may trigger nausea. Drink up!

Acupressure wristbands. Can’t hurt to try!

Vitamin B6. Available in Hungary without a prescription as MagneB6 (includes a magnesium supplement), vitamin B6 has been shown to reduce nausea in the first trimester. If you’re wary of adding artificial supplements to your diet, try increasing your vitamin B6 intake by eating more bananas or baked potatoes with the skin on, both excellent sources.

If you find that your nausea prevents you from getting adequate nutrition, or that you literally cannot keep food down, consult your doctor as soon as possible. There are anti-nausea medications on the market, though these are not widely prescribed in Hungary.

The subject of constipation, and whether or not it is normal in the first trimester came up at our last mommy-baby group, so here’s a little bit of information about this first-trimester nuisance.

The short answer is that yes, constipation is a very common symptom in the first trimester because pregnancy hormones make peristaltic movements more sluggish and make muscles loose, which slows down the passage of stools. The uterus, now the size of a grapefruit, also puts pressure on the bowel, inhibiting its normal activity.

What can you do?

1. Eat fiber-rich foods

Fiber is the key to keeping bowel movements regular. And nothing beats fresh, raw fruit and vegatbles for fiber content. Other fiber-rich choices include whole grains, and products made from them, legumes (pulses) like beans and peas, and dried fruit, especially plums. Adding a sprinkling of linseeds to yogurt or other foods also helps.

Foods to avoid include ones made with refined white flour.

Eating less but more often may also help to make you feel more comfortable.

2. Drink plenty of fluids

Fluid is required to keep stools soft and helping it keep moving along the digestive tract, so drinking more will definitely help. Some people swear by hot water flavored with freshly squeezed lemon juice, while others find 100% fruit juice (especially prune) very effective.

3. Don’t hold your bowel movements

Holding on to your bowel movements regularly may weaken the muscles and lead to constipation. Allow yourself time to go to the bathroom. It is said that one mugful of food or drink at breakfast is enough to trigger bowel activity, so if you’ve been in the habit of skipping breakfast, try eating or drinking something that’s about a mugful in volume, and allow yourself time to use the bathroom before you have to dash off to work.

4. Check your supplements and medications

Calcium and iron can cause constipation, see if any of the supplements or medications you are taking contains these elements, and discuss with your doctor the possibility of not taking them or using something else. Many prenatal vitamin formulations have high levels of iron. Try switching to a lower-iron formulation and see if it helps. (If you cannot find one here in Hungary, you can always switch to taking the most essential pregnancy vitamin, folic acid, separately.)

5. Exercise!

If you move, your bowels move. Keeping active encourages an active bowel, so try to find an exercise regime that you enjoy and that does not strain you overtly compared to your pre-pregnancy activity level. If you are not at high risk for miscarriage (i.e., have a history of miscarriages or some other health problem), there is no reason you cannot take up walking or swimming as a mode of exercise during pregnancy. If you were used to jogging or aerobics, you can continue as before. Only highly jarring sports or sports where the likelihood of falling is high are discouraged, such as skiing, horseback riding, bungee jumping…

(Then again, I never saw a pregnant woman who suddenly had a desire to take up bungee jumping in her first trimester…)