Is lemon water safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about lemon water during pregnancy?

1. Inhaling lemon essential oil at the moment nausea struck produced significantly lower nausea and vomiting scores than placebo on days two and four in a double-blind randomized trial of 100 pregnant women. 1
2. Lemon oil is one of the interventions catalogued in a Cochrane review of 41 nausea and vomiting trials covering 5,449 women, which concluded there is a lack of high-quality evidence behind any single approach. 2
3. About eight cups of fluid a day, taken cold or partially frozen and kept 20 to 30 minutes apart from solid food, is the standard fluid pattern for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. 3
4. Pregnancy raises the vitamin C recommendation to 85 mg a day, well below the 2,000 mg adult upper limit, above which diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps become likely. 4
5. Frequent vomiting wears away tooth enamel because of stomach acid, and rinsing with a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a cup of water helps neutralize it. 5

Is lemon water safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. This is where lemon does its best work. In a randomized trial, women who inhaled lemon essential oil when nausea hit scored lower on a standard nausea and vomiting scale by days two and four. A wedge in cold water gives you the scent and the fluid in the same glass, which is a fair approximation for daily use.
• Second trimester. Nausea usually softens now and lemon water becomes ordinary hydration. If a metallic taste has been putting you off plain water, citrus is the simplest fix available and it costs nothing to try for a day.
• Third trimester. Reflux is common late in pregnancy and acidic drinks make it louder for some people. If lemon water starts to burn, dilute it further, move it earlier in the day, or drop it. Rinsing your mouth with plain water after anything acidic is a small habit worth keeping.