Are saltine crackers safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about saltine crackers during pregnancy?

1. Eating dry toast or crackers in the morning before getting out of bed is ACOG's opening move for nausea, specifically so you are not moving around on an empty stomach. 1
2. Small meals every one to two hours, protein at each one, and a 20 to 30 minute gap between solids and liquids form the standard self-care pattern for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. 2
3. Bland foods along the lines of bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, and tea are low in fat and easy to digest, which is why they anchor most nausea advice. 1
4. Savory snacks including crackers rank among the food categories contributing the most sodium to American diets, and a serving at 20% Daily Value or more counts as high against a daily reference of under 2,300 mg. 3
5. A Cochrane review of 41 nausea and vomiting trials in 5,449 women included no dietary or lifestyle studies at all, so the cracker habit rests on clinical practice rather than randomized evidence. 4

Is saltine crackers safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Keep a sleeve on the nightstand. ACOG's first practical step is dry toast or crackers in the morning before you stand up, so you are not moving around on an empty stomach. Add a protein source as soon as you can tolerate one, since crackers alone will not carry you to lunch.
• Second trimester. Crackers are a bridge, not a meal. As real food starts to appeal again, let them be the thing that gets you to breakfast rather than the breakfast itself, and glance at the sodium line if you have been eating them all day long.
• Third trimester. Late-pregnancy heartburn responds to the same small-and-frequent pattern crackers support, so they stay useful. If crackers are still the bulk of what you eat this far along, raise it at your next visit rather than managing it alone.