For some woman, pregnancy can trigger around-the-clock nausea and vomiting leading to weight loss, malnutrition and dehydration. The debilitating condition is known as hyperemesis gravidarum – or HG for short. Thursday, May 15 is international hyperemesis awareness day – a day dedicated to advocating for better treatment and cure for HG. Laura Michell shares her experience of living with HG twice.
Imagine having gastro-like symptoms for nine months, battling to keep down a glass of water and most foods.
Now imagine being pregnant at the same time, because that’s what it is like to suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).
Hyperemesis is a “potentially life-threatening condition that may cause weight loss, malnutrition, dehydration, and debility due to severe nausea and/or vomiting, and may cause long-term health issues for mother and baby(ies)”, according to The HER Foundation, a global charity advocating for better HG awareness and treatment.
It’s believed the condition affects between one and three percent of pregnancies and has a recurrence rate of about 80 per cent.
Recent research suggests there is a genetic component to the condition.
I’ve been unfortunate enough to suffer from it in both my pregnancies until I gave birth.
Looking back at my most recent pregnancy in 2023, I wasn’t fully aware of just how unwell I was. It’s with the benefit of hindsight that I can see I was really just surviving day-to-day.
So, what’s it like to actually suffer from HG?
In my experience, nausea and vomiting were worst parts of the condition. I took a cocktail of drugs three times a day to keep the nausea, vomiting, and acid reflux under control.
Without them, I would never have ben able to leave my bathroom.
Before I found the right mix of medications, I was nauseous 24-7 and everything I ate was just about guaranteed to come back up.
Once I found the right medications, I still had to lock myself in my bedroom at the other end of our house while food was being cooked and eaten until I was well into my second trimester.
Then there were food aversions.
While other pregnant women carefully follow eating guidelines, giving up soft cheese and sushi for nine months, I struggled to find foods I could actually keep down.
I couldn’t eat meat, most vegetables, or anything sweet.
I survived on buttered toast and two-minute noodles – hardly a nourishing diet – and some days even those ‘safe foods’ would fail me.
I couldn’t even keep a glass of water down, which made hydration an ongoing battle. I often needed IV fluids to reverse my dehydration.
As you can imagine, all of these things combined made it difficult to go about everyday life.
When you are constantly nauseous and on the verge of dehydration, everyday tasks like taking care of your family, cleaning your house, or working become too much to handle.
As a result, I have missed out on a lot. In my second pregnancy, HG left me with less time to play with my son or take him on outings, less quality family time, and missed family functions, including a wedding and significant birthdays.
While missing out on all those moments wasn’t been ideal, these decisions have been necessary to keep me out of hospital and well enough to function on a basic level.
Working with HG, especially in weeks nine to 12 – referred to as ‘the death zone’ by sufferers because that is when symptoms are at their worst – can be almost impossible. It is very difficult to concentrate and give your job your all when all you want to do is throw up and sleep.
Showing up to work each day meant I spend my evenings and weekends bed-ridden, recovering from the exhaustion of working and relying on my husband, Tim, to look after me and our son, Harrison.
Tim did all the cooking and the majority of the household chores and kept Harrison entertained, all while trying to work himself.
My parents religiously visited us every Saturday to help clean, entertain Harrison, and cook batches of whatever meals I thought I might be able to tolerate that week.
For many HG sufferers, one of the most frustrating parts of the condition is the lack of awareness about hyperemesis.
For the most part, people don’t understand just how debilitating the condition can be unless they have suffered from HG or watched a loved one go through it.
As a result, HG can be a very isolating condition.
It can be very hard for people to grasp the extent of the condition and well-meaning friends and family often tried me to ‘just try and drink some water’ or ‘try some ginger’ without really understanding why they weren’t going to stop the sickness.
It is also widely misunderstood by medical professionals.
I encountered plenty of doctors, pharmacists, and midwives across my two pregnancies who were dismissive – one GP in my first pregnancy told me “vomiting is part of life – get used to it” – or reluctant to offer the medication, fluids and intervention I needed to survive.
But, I also found there is a community of HG sufferers past and present who lend their support to one another on the Hyperemesis Gravidarum Support Australia Facebook page, helping you feel like you are not going through this alone, while charity Hyperemesis Australia has a wealth of resources to help get you through.
After my first pregnancy, I honestly didn’t think I had it in me to face HG a second time. And while I did, I definitely know I cannot make through a third HG pregnancy.
To this day, the slightest bit of nausea sends me into a panic and vomiting elicits an extreme fear response.
My hope now is that by the time my daughter has her own children, researchers will have found a way to treat and manage the condition so she doesn’t have to suffer.
