Morning sickness & Ayurveda. 8 Powerful tricks!

Many of you come with questions about how I can support you with morning sickness. It is quite common, especially during early pregnancy, early morning or soon after waking up. Interesting enough, Ayurveda identifies that it is habitual among women whose babies will develop an abundant head of hair after being born. Somehow, they observed a clear pattern 😉

The estrogen levels in the blood rise during pregnancy triggering the Pitta in the stomach, increasing the acid secretions. When the stomach is empty and acidic you can experience nausea and vomiting. Also, our sense of smell becomes more sensitive in the morning and extremely during pregnancy. This is due to the increase of the earth element during gestation which administers building, growing, solidity, structure and is associated with the sense of smell. Makes sense, right?

Let´s see what are the tips that you can do from home, under the supervision of a practitioner which can guide you through.

8 Powerful tricks for morning sickness!

1. Have some fresh air:

Reduce stress levels to keep your hot emotions in balance (along with your pitta) by having a cool and fresh walk in the morning

2. Eat often:

Have a small amount of light food soon after waking up, preferably salty in taste. Even though salty taste aggravates Pitta in general, but in small amounts can stimulate the salivary secretions which will reduce pitta.

Along the day have small frequent meals according to your constitution, five to six times per day. That will also help in morning sickness. Snack on fruits depending on the season, helpful ones are apples, pears, bananas, and grapes. Salty rice crackers with avocado and some alfalfa sprouts are a good example of a healthy snack.

3. Drink often:

If you are vomiting often, make sure you are well hydrated to compensate the loss. Below tricks will help you to bring balance, avoid dehydration and get rid of the morning sickness.

• Fresh lime juice, a little bit of rock salt and 2 teaspoons of a good source of sugar, in a glass of warm water in the morning, is beneficial. Drink it slowly in little sips until the stomach gets settled. If it continues during the day you can repeat this recipe.

• Another option is to drink one teaspoon of lime juice in coconut water, and again drink it slowly.

• Rose petals cooked in good quality milk in the morning is an amazing recipe for nausea. You can use 5 fresh petals or 10-15 dry ones. At night for prevention, you can drink the same rose milk adding a teaspoon of ghee. This will maintain your pitta levels balanced for the following day.

• Herbal teas made with chamomile or lemon balm, sipping them slowly along the day are helpful as well.

4. Almonds:

Take 9-10 raw almonds and soak them over night, peel them and eat them next morning. They are a powerful source of calcium and high-quality protein, they will benefit the development of the fetus.

5. Fennel seeds:

Having with you some fennel seeds available is such an easy trick, whenever you are starting to feel nauseous, chew few and it will not continue, and they will benefit the development of the fetus.

6. Ginger:

Shunti (ginger) is an amazing root that can soothe your stomach. Consume it in a form of healthy ginger candies, or as infusion either fresh or dry. You can also add to your meals. You do not need big amounts, especially when is dry, a pinch will do wonders. I recommend the dry version since is sweeter in the aftertaste and its effect in the body is light and oily which is better during pregnancy.

7. Mint:

Chewing few mint leaves or having an infusion of fresh ones can also be useful in getting rid of nausea. Mint is refreshing and cooling, but you might want to watch out for your Pitta in case you have often heartburn or hyperacidity. If these symptoms start, please stop consuming it.

8. Black Cardamom seeds:

In cases of Vata imbalances (prana-Udana type of morning sickness), it is useful to roast black cardamom seeds and make a powder from it. Take 1 tsp from this powder after waking up with cooked good quality milk. For Pitta imbalances, you can add the powder in a bit of cooked ghee with date sugar or any sugar from a good source. It is important to note that green cardamom can cause miscarriage.

If the symptoms are severe and/ or continue after the first trimester, you might need some support from herbs prescribed by your practitioner.

I hope you find some relief since we know that can be exhausting!

Big long hug!