Help for Morning Sickness: Ginger

Here comes that feeling...that nausea that is so overwhelming that you don't want to stand up, don't want to lay down, don't want to do anything! That is, unless you want to see your partially digested breakfast/lunch/dinner for the second time.

I had horrible morning sickness with my first pregnancy. Painful, frequent, overwhelming morning sickness. Up to 80% of women experience it. Many times I felt like I couldn't function. Jolly Ranchers and fresh lemon juice on ice were my remedy. My doctor told me she would give me a prescription, but I didn't want one since I wasn't constantly vomiting, and I tend to err on the more natural side of things. I liked the effects I got from ginger ale, but they weren't drastic enough, and I HATE the after-taste. It is like morning breath meets ginger. Yuck.

Ginger has an amino acid in it called Tryptophane (in addition to a plethora of antioxidants!) which has the affect of calming the nervous system. This assists with calming nausea associated with morning sickness, motion sickness etc. Here are a couple ideas for utilizing ginger to battle morning sickness:

Make ginger tea
Boil 2 cups of water and pour over 3 slices of fresh ginger root (about the equivalent of 4 teaspoons)
Let steep for approximately 15 minutes. Remove the ginger and sip!
Optional: Sweeten with honey or lemon
Drink up to two cups of the tea throughout the day to reduce symptoms

Chew the ginger
Take a 2 inch slice of ginger and chew it like gum. Swallow the juices and spit the ginger out after a few minutes. If this isn't your style