Morning Sickness: What to Eat When Nothing Sounds Appealing

Morning sickness affects around 70–80% of pregnant women and is one of the most common reasons women struggle with eating well in the first trimester. Despite the name, nausea can strike at any time of day — or all day. For most women it peaks between weeks 6 and 12 and improves significantly by weeks 14–16, though for some it continues throughout pregnancy.

Why Does Morning Sickness Happen?

The exact cause isn’t fully understood, but rising levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and oestrogen in early pregnancy are thought to play a major role. Smell sensitivity increases dramatically in the first trimester, which is why foods or cooking smells that never bothered you before can suddenly trigger intense nausea.

Foods That Often Help

There is no single food that helps all women, but these are consistently reported as tolerable or helpful:

Bland, dry starchy foods tend to be easier to keep down than rich or spicy dishes. Plain crackers, dry toast, rice cakes, plain pasta, boiled rice, and plain boiled potatoes are good staples. Eating a small amount of crackers before getting out of bed in the morning can help some women — an empty stomach often makes nausea worse.

Ginger has the best evidence base of any natural remedy for morning sickness. It can be effective in multiple forms: ginger biscuits, ginger tea (made from fresh ginger steeped in hot water), ginger chews, or crystallised ginger. Ginger ale made with real ginger (check the label) may also help. The amount needed to have an effect is roughly equivalent to 1g of dried ginger per day.

Cold foods are often better tolerated than hot foods because they produce fewer cooking smells. Cold sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, and salads may be more appealing than cooked meals during peak nausea periods.

Small, frequent meals work better than three large ones. An empty stomach is one of the main triggers for nausea — grazing throughout the day keeps blood sugar stable and avoids the stomach being completely empty.

Plain protein — plain chicken, eggs, cheese, nuts — is better tolerated than fatty or spiced protein for many women.

Lemon and citrus can help settle nausea for some women — sipping cold water with lemon, or even just smelling lemon, is anecdotally reported to help.

Foods and Situations to Avoid

• Strong-smelling foods — cooking smells are a major trigger. If possible, ask a partner or family member to cook, or choose cold foods that require minimal preparation.
• Fatty or greasy foods — high-fat foods slow gastric emptying and tend to worsen nausea.
• Spicy foods — can irritate an already-sensitive stomach.
• Large meals — a full stomach puts pressure upward and can worsen nausea and reflux.
• Long gaps between eating — blood sugar dips make nausea worse.
• Strong-smelling environments — public transport, canteens, or enclosed spaces with food smells can be genuinely difficult to manage. Plan around them where you can.

Staying Hydrated

Dehydration makes nausea worse. If you are struggling to keep fluids down, small, frequent sips are better than trying to drink a full glass at once. Ice cold water, diluted cordial, ice chips, or ice lollies (made from fruit juice or coconut water) can be easier to manage than warm drinks. Ginger tea is a good choice when hot drinks are tolerable.

If you cannot keep fluids down at all and are feeling dizzy, very weak, or have not urinated in several hours, this may be hyperemesis gravidarum — a severe form of pregnancy nausea that requires medical treatment. Contact your GP or midwife promptly.

What About Nutrition?

It is genuinely difficult to eat a nutritionally complete diet when you are severely nauseous, and that is okay. In the first trimester, when morning sickness tends to be worst, the baby’s nutritional demands are still relatively modest. Survival eating — eating whatever you can keep down — is the priority. Most women naturally shift back to a more varied diet as nausea improves.

Folic acid supplementation (400mcg per day up to 12 weeks, ideally started before pregnancy) is important and should continue even if you are struggling to eat well. A pregnancy multivitamin that includes folic acid and vitamin D is the standard recommendation. These are small tablets that most women can manage even when food is difficult.

If your nausea is severe and prolonged, your GP can discuss safe anti-nausea medications — there are several that are considered safe in pregnancy and which can make a meaningful difference to quality of life.

When to Contact Your Midwife or GP

• You cannot keep any food or fluids down for 24 hours or more
• You are losing weight
• You are feeling very weak or dizzy
• You have not urinated in 8 hours or your urine is very dark
• Vomiting continues beyond 12 weeks without improvement
• You are having thoughts that your nausea is becoming unmanageable

Hyperemesis gravidarum affects around 1–3% of pregnancies and is a medical condition, not just bad morning sickness. It requires proper treatment and you should not try to manage it alone.