When you’re already stressed about telling your boss you’re pregnant or planning your maternity leave, the last thing you want to do is run to the bathroom every 30 minutes. But morning sickness is inevitable for many pregnant women, and unfortunately, you can’t always work from home or skip your shift because you’re feeling poorly. Even if you’ve talked to your higher-ups about your condition, there’s bound to be valuable work time you won’t want to miss.
InHerSight asked women who have been pregnant what their go-to morning sickness solutions were. These are some of the best responses we received (besides buying a designated trash can, which was rather unexpected, we must say).
Read more: How to Deal with Morning Sickness at Work
What are your go-to ways of dealing with morning sickness at work?
“Making sure to have snacks readily available! I had to have trail mix, apples and peanut butter, hard-boiled eggs (really anything with protein) every two hours or I would feel nauseous. A giant can of trail mix worked wonders whenever I needed it but sick of it now!”
“Saltines and peppermint”
“Kept a bag of crystallized ginger at my desk”
“Our team came up with an agreement of foods that we banned from our work area that triggered morning sickness. It was a nice way for the team to come together because we put a list of foods not only that triggered morning sickness but caused others to be sick as well. Ginger candies were also my go-to.”
“Sprite.”
“Working from home. I had hyperemesis, and I would work from home to accommodate it.”
“Shutting my door and trying to stay quiet and focused. Working from home would have been a plus.”
“Ride it out and pray. Also saltine crackers.”
“Eating small snacks throughout the day and starting my workday later.”
“All the ginger ale in the world! Thankfully my direct manager has kids and understands how tough pregnancies can be so we were able to flex my schedule a little bit.”
“I kept ginger on my desk.”
“Tea.”
“Never let your stomach get empty. Rice cakes and saltines around the clock.”
“Throw up and carry on.”
“Preparing appropriately for the day by packing certain food or drink and medicine. Having a plan in place for any emergencies should they arise.”
“Zofran prescription. Drink a lot of water.”
“Small bites of food, relying on coworkers, rearranging your schedule to accommodate the worst times of day for morning sickness.”
“Talking to my boss. Reducing the number of patients seen per hour.”
“Ginger beer and fresh air!”
“Have open communication and let them know how you're feeling. Take breaks.”
“Keep water close by to sip and take deep breaths to calm yourself at the first sign of nausea. Also have small light snacks like nuts or dried fruit if your boss permits.”
“Benadryl, pressure point bracelets, medicine, oyster crackers.”
“Eat a dry biscuit and dry fruits in the morning.”
“I relied mainly on ginger/mint because, since they're edible, I can use them at work. Fresh ginger, ginger/mint tea, ginger candy, etc. can all be brought to work. Consuming those before work or during breaks was extremely helpful.”
“I would carry around a little bottle of lemon juice in my purse. Every time I’d start feeling nauseous I would squirt a little in my mouth, and it would instantly go away. It could be one of those weird pregnancy things that only helped me, but I swear by it.”
“Sipping water and chewing tums! Sometimes stepping outside.”
“Whenever I feel low or sick, I talk to my boss about my situation and she grants me to leave for that day."
"Be honest and pray that your seniors are understanding. When it hits, it hits hard and there isn’t necessarily anything you can do. Lavender essential oil helped a lot.”
