NAUSEA ISN’T GETTING BETTER

I’m 29 years old and 13 weeks pregnant. I hear people saying that after 12 weeks, you enter the honeymoon trimester where most of the niggles of the first trimester disappear. I have been suffering from nausea and not eating since I was seven weeks pregnant. I can only manage to eat plums and pears. My doctor gave me some pills, but they did not help. Is it normal at 13 weeks to still feel like this?

TINA ANSWERS: I am so sorry to hear that you are still feeling ill. Although many women feel better towards the end of the first three months, many don’t. So yes, to a certain degree, it is common for you to still feel bad. I have no doubt that you should start to feel better in the next few weeks. Every woman handles each and every pregnancy in her own way, and no two pregnancies are the same. Make sure you do not go long periods without eating.

Falling blood sugar makes nausea worse. I am concerned that you are only eating fruit. Here are some tips that may help:

■ Do not rise on an empty stomach. Keep a few bland biscuits next to your bed and eat them before you get up. Try starting

your day drinking a glass of warm water instead of tea or coffee.

■ Make yourself a pot of ginger tea, and keep ginger beer (not first thing in the morning) in the fridge. Ginger biscuits may also help.

■ Avoid smells and foods that make the feeling worse.

■ Carry peppermints in your bag or try mint tea.

■ Drink plenty of water.

■ Avoid spicy, fatty and fried foods.

■ Deep breathing and stillness calms the mind and also calms the body. Stress will make nausea worse.

■ Make your own flavoured ice lollies or ice cubes, and suck on one when the nausea strikes. ●