Eat Away Your Pregnancy Symptoms

Morning sickness, heartburn and constipation are common symptoms you may encounter during your pregnancy. Ms Nehal Kamdar, Senior Dietitian at Raffles Internal Medicine Centre, shares some tips on how to handle them with the right diet.

Morning Sickness

While this is usually experienced in the morning, the feeling of nausea or vomiting can also be experienced in the afternoon or evening. Morning sickness occurs in 50 to 90% of pregnancies. It sometimes continues beyond the 1st trimester. However, it usually ends by the 14th week of pregnancy.

You can relieve the symptoms by:

- Taking something light, such as crackers or dry toast 10 to 15mins before you get out of bed, followed by a light breakfast soon after rising.
- Having smaller and more frequent meals/snacks.
- Avoiding foods which you find nauseating, such as oily and spicy foods.
- Wearing loose and comfortable clothing. Drinking lots of fluid to avoid dehydration.

 

Constipation

You may also experience constipation as the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract are relaxed during pregnancy. As a result, food stays in your intestines for a longer period of time.

Relieve the symptoms by:

- Increasing fibre intake. Eat more wholegrain cereals, fruits and vegetables.
- Increasing fluid intake by taking a minimum of 10 glasses of fluids a day.
- Increasing physical activity (in accordance to your doctor’s advice).
- Taking prune/apple juice or dried prunes. These can act as natural laxatives.

 

Heartburn

Heartburn is usually experienced during the last stage of pregnancy. As your baby grows larger, it can push up against the stomach. As such, the acid content in the stomach is forced up into the oesophagus.

Control of the symptoms by:

- Avoiding spicy, fried food and coffee.
- Having smaller and more frequent meals or snacks.
- Drinking fluids between meals rather than together with the meals.
- Sitting upright for one to two hours after meals.