More research is needed in to morning sickness cures, says a new report. Don't I know it...
pregnancy
My Blackberry has been bleeping all morning with messages from friends alerting me to this morning's story about potential cures for morning sickness. But I didn't need to read the report from The Cochrane Review to know that when it comes to morning sickness, there are very few, if any, remedies that can really claim to work.
For those who don't know, I'm 18 weeks pregnant, and since week six, I've been starring in my very own not-so-clinical study on the subject. While I know from the many well meaning tip-offs from friends and colleagues that some women find comfort in dry crackers, peppermint tea and the (if-I-hear-it-again-I'll-scream) cornucopia of ginger based products available, nothing has come close to stopping my regular, if unpredictable, several-times-a-day 'appointments' with the bathroom.
In the early days I dutifully forced down digestives, only for them to come straight back up, steeped slices of ginger in water, and as a big fan of acupuncture, rejoiced when I read about acupressure bands - finally a suggestion I could imagine working! I might as well have worn my tennis sweat bands to work - which is what it looked like I was doing anyway.
In desperation my husband ordered a hypnosis-type CD that promised to sonically stop the sickness, and I dutifully listened to the weird mix of trip hop and whale calls - until I almost lost my iPod down the loo during a particularly violent 'episode'. When even water began to make a repeat appearance, my doctor prescribed the antihistamine promethazine, although the pharmacist's doubtful 'good luck!' revealed all I needed to know about the chances of success. What the tablets are particularly good at, it turns out, is making you sleep - so taking one at night now means battling the inevitable groggy 'hangover' the next morning, and then waiting to see if the sickness will follow. Some days - those when you'll see me at my desk on time - it doesn't, although it's hard to know if it's the tablets or the advancing weeks that should get the credit. But for the others, I've built up my own trusted tricks, which while not stopping the nausea, do at least make it a little more bearable. After all, I'm all too aware of how many women desperately dream of pregnancy - morning sickness and all - to want to be moaning about something that is really a blessing. So, here are my tips; in my experience, they're far more useful than a lifetime's supply of ginger biscuits!
- Always wear a scarf / shawl - it doubles as a subtle face mask when you're downstream of a smoker or walking past a smelly fast food shop, both guaranteed to make me gag
- Keep a toothbrush at work. Cleaning my teeth always sets me off again, whereas if I wait 'til I get to the office, the moment has often passed.
- Eat and drink what you fancy - even if it is mashed potato. Right now I can only face beige foods and fizzy drinks, but something is better than nothing. Don't beat yourself up about eating unhealthily, and remember, the most important thing is to keep your liquids up, in whatever form you can stomach.
- And always, always, double layer your plastic bags. A stash of carriers is invaluable on public transport, but they have holes in, remember. My Stella McCartney coat will never be the same...
