I have several pregnant friends right now and it has reminded me how brutal and debilitating morning sickness can be.  It is estimated that as many as nine out of 10 expectant mums experience nausea, with or without vomiting.  If you are tired, hungry, stressed or anxious the nausea can be made much worse, and if you are expecting twins or triplets you may experience worse morning sickness because you have higher levels of pregnancy hormones.

The good news is that there are several natural remedies that can relieve the symptoms of morning sickness:

1. Dont let yourself get too hungry – although counter intuitive many women say that there biggest mistake is to not enough and allow themselves to get too hungry, eat little and often to avoid getting too hungry or too full

2. Avoid fatty or very spicy foods which can upset your stomach.

3. Keep a stash of dry bits handy – simple stuff like bread or cereal can help if you suddenly have a wave.  I got married 8 weeks pregnant and was shuffling up the ailse with some crunchy nut cornflakes in my bag.  If you find the sickness particularly bad first thing, try eating plain crackers or dry cereal before you leap out of bed.

4. Ginger – Ginger as long been heralded for its anti nausea affects, and in pregnancy this can be one of the best ways to keep the sickness at bay.  Use with hot water, in cooking or I found a stash of ginger nut biscuits extremely soothing.

5. Peppermint – a stomach settling hero, either as mint tea or as as an essential oil (either on a hankie or in an oil burner).

6. Acupressure Wrist Bands - often used to help with sea sickness, the bands stimulate an acupuncture point which is known in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve nausea.   If you’re going to try this, make sure you follow the instructions and get the bands pressing against the right spot so that you reap the full benefit.

7. Remember it doesn’t last forever. Most women find that the majority of the symptoms have passed between 12-16 weeks gestation.