Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
I’ve heard horror stories about pregnant women and morning sickness.
One lady in particular couldn’t stand the smell of her husband in the first few months of pregnancy. It got so bad for her that she would start getting nauseous as she drove towards their house. Needless to say, she spent a lot of time at her mother’s house until things ‘calmed down’.
Another lady couldn’t stand the smell of her fridge. She would open the fridge door to find something to eat and then run to the toilet to throw up. There was something about the smell of the appliance that she couldn’t stand.
I used to hear all these stories and think that they are really strange. Does the sense of smell really change when you get pregnant? It can’t be!
When I first became pregnant I found out the hard way, everything that was happening to my body was like watching a school science project. I took the pregnancy test and waited for the changes to come along. But instead of seeing the changes to my expanding belly, I first experienced them in other ways.
The exhaustion and the strong sense of smell were the first things that struck me. I’ll talk about the exhaustion later; but as for the sense of smell, all I can say is ‘wow’! My sense of smell had magnified several times over and it was a really strange experience.
All of a sudden, a normal day-to-day smell was becoming unbearable and I found myself avoiding smoky restaurants, asking my husband not to use aftershave, and even holding my breath when walking next to a diesel bus!
Quick nausea tip: Do not leave your stomach empty. I found that when my stomach was empty, I was more likely to feel nauseous. Have frequent healthy snacks throughout the day. The common advice you hear is to munch on dry crackers. Most other healthy snacks will also work such as raw nuts, fruits, or cucumber.
l Do you get nauseous when pregnant? Get all the great tips from my latest book I Want A Healthy Pregnancy, sold in bookstores around Bahrain or online at Amazon, iTunes or Kindle store. The Arabic version is due out this month so stay tuned. For more info, visit www.IWantAHealthyPregnancy.com
