How to Get Relief From Pregnancy Symptoms

Updated: December 26, 2023 by Olivia Mittak | Leave a comment

A lot can be done to lessen the discomforts of pregnancy, making life much more manageable while you are pregnant.

Are pregnancy symptoms really dimming the joy of this, the most magical time of your life? Well, that is a big fat dose of reality. Pregnancy may be joyous, but it is not necessarily the most comfortable time of your life.

Fortunately, there really is a lot that can be done to lessen the discomforts of pregnancy, making life much more manageable until your baby arrives and total relief from pregnancy symptoms is found.

Key Points

Make sure to eat small, balanced meals throughout the day.
Drink enough water; getting dehydrated is never good!
Keep exercise low-impact. Walking is a great way for pregnant women to get their exercise in.

Tips For Relieving Pregnancy Symptoms

Eating Often

Most people are aware of the benefits of eating small, frequent meals as a way to ward off morning sickness. The benefit does not end when the nausea does. In fact, small frequent meals should become a way of life for the nine months of pregnancy and during lactation following the birth.

Infrequent meals can cause stomach upset, shakiness, light headedness, and fatigue.

Eating Well

Eating small meals comprised of candy bars and bags of chips is not going to help anyone stay healthy, no matter how happy you make your taste buds!

Your mini-meals need to include selections from the healthier categories on the food pyramid. Fruits, veggies, and grains in a balanced variety are a must. To really pack a powerful punch, each mini meal should include a healthy source of protein.

Apples and peanut butter, jerky and carrot sticks, and cheese on salad greens are all great examples.

Exercise

When feeling large and totally exhausted the last thing you want to think about is exercise, but regular exercise will help you stay strong and healthy. Exercising now will also make delivery easier. Remember that you won't be able to partake in your normal exercise regimen during pregnancy. High-impact exercise is not good for your baby.

Walking is usually the best form of exercise you can do. You don't need to walk for miles and miles. Spending 30 minutes walking each day is a great place to start. Walking will also help keep your weight down, allowing you to return to your pre-pregnancy weight faster and more easily after delivery.

Water: Drink Up

We've all likely experienced dehydration before. Headaches, fatigue, and nausea are just a few of the symptoms that can plague someone with dehydration. When you're pregnant, the last thing you want to do is let dehydration make your symptoms worse.

Carry a sipper bottle with you everywhere and keep it filled! You should aim to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day, throughout the day. Chugging eight glasses of water at the end of the day is better than nothing, but it isn't ideal.

Getting a Nap

Fatigue is a common pregnancy symptom which only seems to grow as your body becomes larger and more uncomfortable at night. Offset a crummy night’s sleep by taking regular naps.

The art of power napping will help keep your energy up during pregnancy, as well as aid you in changing your sleeping schedule while your baby is still learning the difference between night and day.

Massage

Getting a regular massage during pregnancy can do your body a world of good. Massages can help relieve back pain, lessen stress, and reduce swelling and all sorts of other discomforts.

If you are not used to pampering yourself, now is the time to start. Getting the knots worked out of tired pregnant muscles will go a long way toward upping the ‘joy’ quotient of your pregnancy.

There is nothing that can be done about the size of your belly bump, or the heaviness in your back. A massage is a small thing you can do to make these symptoms less overwhelming while you wait for your baby to appear.

Pregnancy Symptoms by Trimester

Sort out pregnancy symptoms one trimester at a time to up the comfort quotient as you move through this exciting time in your life.

First Trimester

Nausea: Morning sickness is a very trite term that describes sickness which encompasses morning, noon and night for some mothers-to-be. The severity ranges from mild to severe. In most cases vomiting is minimal, but the feeling of an unsettled tummy can be constant and all-encompassing.
Fatigue: Feeling tired is one thing, but an inability to function even when getting good rest at night and eating balanced meals on a regular basis is quite another. Feelings of nausea are intensified when mom is tired.
Moodiness: Crying at the drop of a hat or irrational rages against the evils of toilet paper rolls installed backwards? That sounds like the first few weeks of pregnancy. Hang in there. Just knowing about the pregnancy will help mom keep her emotions in check. Getting a nap, soaking in a warm, not hot, bath, relaxing and taking a walk for exercise all act to improve mood during pregnancy.

Second Trimester

Energy Levels: Moms almost universally report a surge in energy and feelings of well-being during the second trimester. The morning sickness is gone, mom doesn’t feel like 2pm is national nap time, and moodiness is leveled off.
This second three months of pregnancy is the calm between the storms. As baby grows and pregnancy progresses, moms move back into feelings of discomfort caused by the heaviness and awkwardness of advanced sizes in late pregnancy.
- Getting through: Just enjoy it! The feeling of having loads of energy to burn and giddy pregnancy joy doesn’t usually last. The best thing to do is use that extra energy to walk more. Staying in good shape will help prepare your body for the third trimester and delivery.

Third Trimester

Food Cravings: Does the idea of eating everything sight, seem like a great idea? Now, is your body demanding combinations of dissimilar flavors such vinegar and ice-cream or corn dogs and chocolate sauce? Well, enjoy it while you can. It will not always seem like such a great meal choice.
- Getting through: Generally, food cravings are the body’s way of asking for one nutrient or another. This does not mean mom needs to drink the pickle juice. Make certain to take your prenatal vitamin daily, and pay better attention to balanced meal choices which will mitigate or even banish cravings altogether. That said, doctors agree that as long as your cravings involve food, you can indulge a bit.
Feeling Huge: Well, there isn’t much space left for baby in mom’s belly and mom is feeling the squeeze. Mom hasn’t really reached full term until she can’t remember what her shoes look like anymore.
- Getting through: At some point, there is nothing to relieve the discomfort but delivery. It is often said that moms need to become so uncomfortable during pregnancy to willingly welcome labor. This heaviness doesn’t last long and usually lasts just a few weeks, in the period nearing the due date.

Just keep thoughts focused upon the baby and the nearness of his or her arrival and the last few days will fly by. Then all the discomforts will be but a memory.

The content of this article should not be taken as professional medical advice. Always seek the opinion of a qualified, licensed medical professional before making decisions that impact your health or your family's health.