Today is Hyperemesis gravidarum awareness day... and half of me thinks 4000 pukes might be an overestimate, but the more I think about it, probably not! I have puked MANY TIMES.
I have 4 sweet blessed living babies. They are 9, 5, 2, and 6 months. I have also had numerous heartbreakingly hard miscarriages, some definitely related to HG and some I may never know the cause.
There is no known cause for hyperemesis gravidarum and there is no known cure. That also means that well meaning advice of "xyz simple thing worked for my morning sickness" might be really really hurtful and offensive to a HG mom. If you know someone with HG, please be gentle with your words.
My HG journey really begins with a second trimester miscarriage that I speak of very little. It's a loss I keep close to my heart. My OB didn't believe that I needed any intervention including anti nausea medications for my constant vomiting since I was an overweight person to begin with, and my body went into ketosis and was in danger very early in the pregnancy. Since it was my first pregnancy, I didn't tell people early, and lost the baby early in the second trimester likely from malnutrition.
Shortly after, I was pregnant with my son who is my now 9 year old son. I had moderately to severe HG with him, and felt I suffered a great deal. I had multiple ER visits for fluids and lived on Zofran and could not get out of bed without vomiting. My OB didn't believe me that I had HG until a MFM doctor told her otherwise and at that point i had spiraled so far down with non-treatment, that it was hard to recover. Most of my pregnancy memories consist of, I went to this place and I vomited there and then I went to this place and I vomited there too... I was really traumatized from his pregnancy. I puked all over my work multiple times, our car a few times. I pretty much lost all of my dignity and then some. I finally gave birth and had my baby, and was in such shock... I suffered greatly postpartum with him from depression, anxiety, and PTSD, all that can be related back into the HG.
Next came our 5 year old, who was my "easiest" pregnancy. I only puked at least once daily with her. But I still have many memories of pulling over on the highway and barfing on the side of the road as traffic sped by... as I also peed my pants of course. Yay, reality of pelvic floor and multiple kids! Gah! I mean...gag.
My 2 year old was one of my toughest HG pregnancies. I had home IV fluids, a Zofran pump, and could still barely walk for months. It was awful, sad, and devastating. I look back on it and think, how did I do that? I really don't know. Somehow God gave me the strength. I really looked like death in photos though... and after I gave birth I had a few neighbors tell me they thought I was dying or something because of how awful I looked. It is no joke the toll that HG takes on your body. It is painful and real and life consuming. It consumes the life out of the mother until the baby is born, and then it takes many years for the mom to heal. I still suffer from vitamin deficiencies from this pregnancy, and many of those deficiencies also contributed in an increase in my anxiety also.
Last, my 6 month old's pregnancy was a difficult HG pregnancy but in a different way from my 2 year old's. I did start out with the home IV fluids and Zofran pump, but developed an allergic reaction to Zofran and had to move to Reglan and Phenergan. After I did this, when I was in my third trimester I had an episode where I vomited in my sleep and aspirated my vomit, causing myself to have aspiration pneumonia. I was lucky I had an excellent family doctor advocating for me. I was hospitalized for nearly 2 weeks with a variety treatments, but even after discharge spent the rest of my pregnancy under treatment for my lungs and ultimately delivered my baby prematurely which may or may not have been related (I also had other health issues, but he was my first premature baby).
I've lost varying amounts of weight with every pregnancy, from 30 to over 100 pounds (5-30% of my body weight). I've had other miscarriages in between many of my pregnancies, but the details are not HG relevant, so they're not included here.
If you know someone with HG, show up and help them, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem, I promise it does not seem small and insignificant to them. Some of the smallest acts of kindness are the ones I remember years later. Thank you to everyone who has blessed my family during our pregnancies, we could not have survived without your support. We are survivors because you helped us!
Please pray for moms suffering from HG, and their babies, and their families. Something we have to do is advocate for ourselves constantly when we are sick. It shouldn't be this way but it is. Many of us are offered "therapeutic abortions" for our wanted, loved babies as a way to end the suffering from HG. Pray for moms who have suffered from HG in the past too, for healing, because the trauma does not just leave your heart when your baby is born. Healing takes time and effort and work.
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