Morning Sickness and the Primal Blueprint page

[erickael]

Hi Everyone,

I have a question regarding morning sickness and primal style eating. I am really curious to know what woman ate to get through their first months of pregnancy. From what I am reading, morning sickness is evolutionary to prevent eating contaminated foods. Usually with morning sickness the sight and smell of meat and eggs are revolting. I know for me, the only thing I could keep down was grains. What do you think woman ate? Just fruits and vegetables? I am curious of what you guys opinions of this are!!

[marthat]

I couldn't eat red meat in the first trimester, and could only manage cold eggs. Egg salad sandwiches were my go-to food when I was out. This was 22 yrs ago, no concept of primal. Chicken and fish were OK, when I wasn't actively nauseous... I ate a lot of Cheerios and milk. And gained 40 lbs with each pregnancy. But lost it all again, too, thank goodness.

[Dragonfly]

I suspect Paleolithic women didn't have morning sickness, actually. Those who did likely dealt with it with herbs.

For most women these days it seems to be a nutrient deficiency, blood sugar issue or imbalanced hormones. Primal eating can take care of all of these and for some women it could take a year or so to make up for eating a SAD diet before their bodies are fully healed.

I recently wrote a blog post on Primal Pregnancy nutrition that you my find helpful. Here's the link.

[Athanasey]

With my first pregnancy it was so bad I just didn't eat. My Dr started giving me vitamin B12 injections and it I would feel normal again for up to a week. So I dare say it was vitamin deficiency that caused it. In my second pregnancy the shots were no longer available so I survived on sips of gatorade. A midwife told me that they'd done a study where the expectant mothers drank a can of normal coke first thing in the morning and it worked wonders and curing morning sickness. This however is completely unhelpful from a primal perspective! Both those things are in line with what Dragonfly says about it being a nutrient deficiency or blood sugar issue though.

[Shijin13]

I didn't have morning sickness w/dd - however I could not stand to look at, smell or eat Chicken for the first 2 trimesters - Steak, Eggs, and especially Tuna were my go to protein sources . I was not primal during either of my pregnancies - but I was GF. W/DS - The only way the little bugger would let me eat first thing in the am - was if I had a cup of coffee first - If I ate before I had the coffee - up came bkfst.

[Lynna]

My last pregnancy, I practically lived on slices of bread with a piece of american or cheddar cheese, slice of fresh tomato with some chopped fresh garlic, oregano and salt and ran it under the broiler my first trimester. Of course that was 33 years ago and not primal, but it kept me from getting nauseous. I also ate a lot of chicken, smashed potatoes, stringbeans and chard.

[primalprincess7]

how does a pregnant women know if she is getting all the proper foods and nutrients when they are repulsed by a lot of foods?

I was pregnant for two months and had a miscarriage but during that time i craved red meat like no other and pickles and lemons. all i wanted was meat. eggs/tuna/sweets all repulsed me.

[Dragonfly]

how does a pregnant women know if she is getting all the proper foods and nutrients when they are repulsed by a lot of foods?

I was pregnant for two months and had a miscarriage but during that time i craved red meat like no other and pickles and lemons. all i wanted was meat. eggs/tuna/sweets all repulsed me.

So sorry for your loss...

Best thing to do is to eat really well prior to conception and you may be able to avoid food aversions next time.

If it happens again in the same way (every pregnancy is different!), just eat your meat, take a krill oil supplement and if you can, eat some liver or take a folic acid supplement and you will be covered.

See my post
for more suggestions.

[Kaylee99]

how does a pregnant women know if she is getting all the proper foods and nutrients when they are repulsed by a lot of foods?

Agreed, all I could stomach for 8 months was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I hardly ate and STILL gained 40 pounds. I'm hoping when we try again that with all the healthy primal food there won't be as much morning sickness. *fingers crossed*

[Glamorama]

I was primal for 8 months before conceiving DD in Feb 2010. As soon as I hit the dreaded 6- weeks mark, I got very sick, and all I could stomach was carbs. Bread, bread, bread. After 12 weeks I could also eat cheese and chocolate and whipped cream. Gross, I know, and I gained a hideous 22 kilos (that's nearly 50 pounds!). But it was all I could handle.