Shiatsu during Pregnancy - morning sickness
October 31st, 2007A post from my wife:
If you planned to be pregnant, or your cycle is regular, chances are you’ll think of testing around week 5 or 6. At that point, for many women, you won’t be feeling sick yet. But as those hormones kick in over the next week or so, so does the nausea! ‘Morning’ sickness, hah! The ghastly sensation can last all day and all night, or come in fits and starts, and whatever they say, it can last for months.
As you may have guessed, this is the voice of experience! I have just come out of the tunnel of pregnancy-induced nausea myself - it started easing up noticeably at 15 weeks. The worst weeks were 9, 10 and 11, after which it improved somewhat. During this time, you may not feel able to do much but drag yourself through every day, especially if you are also very tired. This is highly likely, so get into bed early, as fatigue makes nausea worse and reduces your ability to cope with everything. Don’t expect anything extra of yourself - it’s more than enough that you are still getting to work (if you are). Cooking (never mind eating) when your sense of smell is heightened so that everything triggers a wave of sickness is not going to be fun. Unless you absolutely have to, don’t try to socialise or do housework or make important decisions that can be delayed - if you feel as if you could momentarily do something useful, rather spend the time with your partner, who will appreciate the brief return of your normal self and sense of humour.
There’s a fair bit of sympathy and advice out there for suffering new mothers-to-be, but when it comes right down to it, it is a case of endurance and mitigation, rather than cure. There is no question of taking anti-nausea medication unless you are severely dehydrated from vomiting, and in that case, you would probably be hospitalised on a drip. But I guess that not many women would want to try such medication anyway, given Thalidomide’s fetal deformities.
Any pregnancy book will give you a few tips on what to try, from ginger biscuits and tea to nibbling almost continuously. I found that different things worked better in different weeks. At first crystallised ginger and gingerbeer seemed to help, but then drinking lots of milk transformed my life. Fennel tea never helped but ordinary tea at breakfast is good. Cream crackers, jelly, marmite, mashed potato - any may seem edible on different days. My motto was, if I could imagine eating it, I tried it! Fresh fruit was fine for me all the way through, and has the extra benefit of helping to prevent pregnancy-related constipation.
But here come the shiatsu tips. You’ll hear a lot about Heart Protector 6, which is good for motion sickness, and can indeed help with pregnancy-induced nausea, though its effects may not be long-lasting. It’s easy to press on yourself at any time, in any place. So give it a try. You can also get Sea-Bands from a chemist, which may help, especially if you add your own pressure to the button on the wristband.
But I found that Stomach 36 worked like a miracle. I would wake up suddenly with my stomach churning, and my husband would kindly press it for me. Just one leg is enough. This point is quite hard to press effectively for long on yourself, as the angle is hard to get to, and you may need strong pressure. But after a minute or two, you should just feel the nausea draining away, and the effect can last for hours.
And, of course, a whole Shiatsu treatment will address imbalances throughout your body, helping you sleep better, calming your mind, and improving your immune resistance (which is weakened during pregnancy).
Good luck to all who need it now, and remember, it does pass!
boy, I hope I got that the right way round. The BBC 
