What Does Morning Sickness Feel Like? 3 Women Share Their Experiences
Key takeaways:
Morning sickness is common during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The symptoms are nausea and vomiting that can occur at any time of day.
Identifying triggers, such as smells or tastes, helps some people figure out what to avoid.
Pregnancy affects a person’s physical and mental health in countless ways. One of the most unpleasant side effects is morning sickness, which affects up to 80% of pregnant people. Despite its name, morning sickness can happen at any time of the day.
For some people, morning sickness ends by the 20th week of pregnancy, but it can also last an entire pregnancy. While some people can get relief by changing their diet, others need over-the-counter or prescription treatments. When morning sickness does occur, it’s important to drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration from vomiting.
Below, three people describe what it feels like to have morning sickness.
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All-day sickness
Liz Fleming, a pregnant 33-year-old public relations manager in North Carolina, says her morning sickness is more like all-day sickness.
“The closest thing I can relate it to is when you get intense butterflies in your stomach, like when you’re nervous or on a roller coaster,” she says. “It kind of hangs out in your chest and your gut, and it can go either way: It could disappear or come out.”
Liz has been pregnant three times, but she lost her first pregnancy. She’s experienced morning sickness each time. During her second pregnancy, after getting sick three to five times a day, she reached out to her doctor. With this pregnancy, she’s taking Diclegis, a prescription medication that helps treat pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. She takes it at night and again in the morning.
Liz cares for herself like she would if she had the flu. She stays hydrated by sipping on Gatorade and ice chips, eats small meals, and gets plenty of rest. She’s also tested out natural remedies like acupuncture, which she found helpful.
One of her favorite ways to cope with morning sickness is to seek out fresh air. “That is really the reset button for me,” she says.
When she gets outside, she takes a few calming deep breaths. “With this nausea, you can be fine and then not so fine in a matter of seconds. It happens so fast.”
A commute to work, interrupted
Lacey Tomlinson, a 33-year-old writer and instructional designer in Cincinnati, has two kids, ages 3 and 1. With each one, she experienced morning sickness throughout her entire pregnancy.
“I wasn’t one of those lucky women who have it go away the first trimester,” she says.
Lacey describes the experience like a hangover — “that unsettled feeling in your stomach” — that never ends. “It includes actually vomiting, but also a lot of dry heaving,” she says.
Every time she threw up, she also peed. The whole thing was distracting and unpleasant.
“It doesn’t go away. It’s not like I would throw up and feel better,” she says. “One time, I was driving into work and threw up on myself. I got off the exit, got back on the highway, came back home, changed, and then just got back on the highway to come back to work. You don’t really have a choice, you know?”
Fortunately, Lacey’s husband was very supportive. He was empathetic and listened, she says. When she couldn’t tolerate cooking smells, he figured out a way to minimize them by getting takeout or sending her upstairs while he cooked. He also always had snacks on hand in case she suddenly needed to eat.
Pregnancy felt like the longest 9 months Lacey could imagine.
“Pregnancy is not beautiful for everyone,” she says, adding that, looking back, it was worth it. “I chose to have a second kid because I love my kids, and I love having them. I think there’s some relief in knowing that it’s a set period of time.”
Sour candies to the rescue
Ryanne Mellick, a 37-year-old therapist in Minneapolis, got pregnant in December 2020 and had no idea what to expect. She ended up feeling “incredibly nauseous” all day long for about 8 weeks.
“I was tired, sick to my stomach,” she says. “Food didn’t sound good, but you know you have to eat.”
Ryanne found some creative coping strategies, one of which was eating sour candies to relieve her nausea. “Sour Patch Kids, sour gummy worms, Lemonheads — it was the only thing that would make my nausea go away for a while,” she says.
While she never threw up, the constant nausea was distracting, especially during the workday.
She feels lucky that she was able to work from home.
“I had a little bit of flexibility there,” she says. “But it definitely had an impact on how I went about my days. All I could think about was: Am I going to throw up?”
In addition to always keeping sour candies with her, Ryanne was careful to drink enough fluids to stay hydrated. She also made it a point to eat small meals throughout the day and get plenty of rest.
Fortunately, after 8 weeks, her morning sickness suddenly disappeared. “It was almost, like, overnight,” she says.
What does the doctor say?
Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH
Medical Editor
The term “morning sickness” came into popular use in the early 1800s. It’s not clear who coined the term, but I would wager that person was never pregnant themselves. In many countries, morning sickness is called “pregnancy sickness” to reflect that, for most people, symptoms last all day.
The medical term for morning sickness is “nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.” This term eliminates “morning” and reflects that many people only experience nausea and never vomit. It also gets rid of the word “sickness,” since these symptoms, while sometimes awful, are normal and probably evolved as a way to protect fetuses against illness.
Whatever term you choose to describe your symptoms, know that you’re not alone. These symptoms occur during almost every pregnancy. And while they usually go away about halfway through a pregnancy, 10% of people continue feeling nauseous right up to their due date.
If nausea and vomiting are keeping you from living your life, talk to your healthcare provider about treatment options. There’s many evidence-based treatment options — from vitamins to medication, acupuncture, and ginger candy. Your provider can help you choose options that meet your needs. They can also make sure you’re not developing hyperemesis gravidarum, a serious medical condition for which 1% of all pregnant people end up needing hospital-level care.
Just keep in mind what works for one person may not work for someone else. And what worked for you at one point in your pregnancy may become less effective over time. You may have to adjust your approach as you get further into your pregnancy.
But here’s one silver lining: Nausea and vomiting are actually signs of a healthy pregnancy. And you will almost certainly feel back to normal once you deliver.
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