Morning Sickness

Morning Sickness

A while back, one of my nieces telephoned to ask what I would recommend for morning sickness. She was pregnant and having trouble keeping anything down. I was faced with my usual problem: I'm a botanist, not a clinician. Suppose I'm wrong? I would never want to suggest to my niece that she try anything that might be dangerous to her or her baby.

I'd once told my daughter to try ginger for morning sickness, and now I was prepared to recommend the same for my niece. My only hesitation was the counsel of one pharmacologist, who said that ginger might stimulate miscarriage. But I couldn't imagine a cup or two of ginger tea doing this, so with the one caution I had also given my daughter--to go slowly--I suggested the herb to my niece. She phoned back to say that the ginger helped, with no noticeable side effects.

I'll still counsel ginger until I get more evidence that the pharmacologist's warning has merit. Meanwhile, I've never seen anything safer or better for morning sickness.

Shortly after I talked with my niece, I learned of a study that probably explains the pharmacologist's concern about miscarriage. It turns out that it takes less than 1 gram of ginger to control the nausea of morning sickness, while the Chinese, who use the herb to bring on menstruation (and possibly abortion) use 20 to 28 grams for this purpose.

Very roughly, a strong cup of ginger tea might contain about 250 milligrams of the herb, which is about 1Ž80 of the amount necessary to trigger miscarriage. A heavily spiced Chinese dish might contain 500 milligrams--1Ž40 of the miscarriage dose--and an eight-ounce glass of ginger ale could contain 1,000 milligrams--1Ž20 of the menstruation-triggering dose. You'd have to gag down a heck of a lot of ginger before you'd have to be concerned about any kind of problems.

Queasy Times

Morning sickness is the nausea, dizziness and general ill feeling that
pregnant women experience on getting up in the morning, or sometimes for much of the day. An estimated 50 percent of pregnant women complain of morning sickness, typically during their first trimester of pregnancy. But some women experience it for much longer.

Scientists are not sure why morning sickness develops. Several folk medical traditions claim it's Nature's way of clearing toxins from the mother's system. I don't know about that, but I do know I'd never suggest that my daughter or any woman take hard-core medications to treat it. So I hope that if you're pregnant, you'll discuss these gentle herbal alternatives with your doctor before resorting to drugs to relieve the problem.

Green Pharmacy for Morning Sickness

If you believe in food as your best medicine, as I do, then just eating might help. Many pregnant women report relief from morning sickness when they snack on dry toast or crackers immediately after rising and eat small, frequent meals during the day. In addition, here are the herbs that can help.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale). In a paper I once published called "Foods as Pharmaceuticals," I listed only ginger for morning sickness. Many women have told me since that it helps, and I believe them.

I don't know of any scientific studies showing that ginger helps relieve morning sickness, but there's no shortage of research demonstrating that the herb treats motion sickness, a closely related stomach-upsetting condition. One excellent study showed ginger to be far superior to the commonly prescribed dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) as a treatment for nausea induced by motion.

In several studies, ginger has also been shown to relieve dizziness. This chapter lists other remedies for morning sickness, but in my opinion, ginger still ranks number one. I'd suggest up to two cups of ginger tea a day.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita) and other mints. Peppermint owes its medicinal value to menthol, a cooling, anesthetic stomach soother. The eclectics, nineteenth-century physicians who combined herbs with the mainstream medicine of the time, recommended menthol vapors for morning sickness. The ancient Romans chewed mint sprigs to soothe their stomachs after large meals, hence our after-dinner mints (which don't contain real peppermint, despite their name).

Peppermint certainly works to relieve stomach distress, but according to my database, it is not the best source of menthol. Cornmint tops the menthol list, followed by mountain mint (which you should not use during pregnancy), watermint and Virginia mountain mint.

Just don't drink large amounts of strong peppermint tea, as some herbals warn that large amounts may trigger miscarriage. If my niece wanted to use peppermint tea, I'd suggest she drink no more than a cup or two at a time.

Black horehound (Ballota nigra). This herb has a good reputation as a treatment for the nausea of motion sickness. I believe it's also useful as a treatment for vomiting due to pregnancy or nervousness.

Try black horehound alone or in this combination: one part black horehound, one part camomile and two parts meadowsweet. Meadowsweet contains an aspirin-like compound, so if a little aspirin upsets your stomach, you might replace this herb with ginger and/or citrus rind. Try a cup or two a day.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Raw or cooked cabbage, cabbage juice and/or sauerkraut are old-time remedies for stomach distress. Sauerkraut juice in particular is reportedly soothing to the overactive intestines that contribute to morning sickness.

Peach (Prunus persica). The Chinese use the leaves and Europeans use the bark of the peach tree to make a tea for morning sickness. The leaves contain the compound benzaldehyde, which should be of some help in relieving this condition. If you opt for bark, don't use more than a teaspoon.

Raspberry (Rubus idaeus). Tea made from raspberry leaves has been widely recommended for curbing the nausea of morning sickness. This use has not been investigated adequately enough. Still, I believe that folklore carries a good deal of weight, and the tea has a persistent reputation as a treatment for women's conditions, from menstrual cramps to morning sickness and labor pains.

Raspberry leaf is said to contain a constituent, readily extracted with hot water, that relaxes the smooth muscles of the uterus. I'd suggest drinking up to three cups a day. Or combine it with ginger, mint and a little lemon for a very pleasant anti-queasiness tea.

Citrus fruits. A little piece of grapefruit, orange or tangerine rind added to beverage teas has been reported to help relieve morning sickness.

Juices. Those who have juicing machines might consider a combination of ginger, kiwi, mint and pineapple; apple, carrot and ginger; or apple, fennel, ginger and peppermint or spearmint. The chemical constituents of these herbs lead me to suspect that they would all be useful in easing morning sickness. And what better way to banish this problem than with a healthy, tasty juice for breakfast?