Nausea, Heartburn and Sleep

The GDM eating plan assumes you can eat regular meals. Pregnancy frequently does not cooperate.

Nausea is the first obstacle. If food is difficult, small and frequent works better than trying to force a proper meal — and dry, plain starches are often the only tolerable thing, which is unfortunate because they are exactly what raises your readings. Pair whatever you can keep down with a little protein where possible, and tell your team if nausea is stopping you eating rather than quietly skipping meals.

Heartburn, common later on, makes lying down after eating uncomfortable. That works in your favour: staying upright and walking after a meal helps both the heartburn and the reading.

Late-pregnancy hunger at night is real, and going to bed hungry tends to produce a worse fasting number rather than a better one. A small snack with some protein — a few nuts, a bowl of curd — is usually a better answer than nothing.

Broken sleep is unavoidable, and worth knowing that poor sleep makes blood sugar harder to manage. It is not a reason for guilt; it is a reason not to read too much into a single bad morning reading after a bad night.

If vomiting is persistent rather than occasional, that needs managing as illness rather than tolerated.