Hyperemesis is not just Morning Sickness.

Our media readily depicts pregnancy with a cheerful, rosy-cheeked woman who gasps “oh no!” raising her hand to her mouth as she skips to the nearest bathroom and gently relieves her stomach of its contents. It’s almost graceful! Then, everyone smiles at the realisation of what this means, and the happy couple embrace, living happily ever after!

Later on, we’re shown scenes of them shopping for a pram, or putting together a flat-packed cot. While her belly has obviously expanded, her colour is good, she’s moving with relative ease, you get the sense that this pregnancy has been super breezy and one of the happiest times of her life!

Nausea and vomiting during early pregnancy is normal, and many women experience this. It usually lasts for 4-16 weeks, and while the occasional or even daily or twice daily vomit is inconvenient and nausea somewhat uncomfortable, usually life goes on, and the pregnant woman just gets on with it. Home remedies, dietary adjustments, and basic over-the-counter medications provide relief to get you by.

What if your experience of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is not normal?

What if you struggle to hold food down or to eat at all? What if you vomit so often that you become dehydrated, lose weight, become malnourished (so much so that your baby doesn’t grow as well as it could), or you end up in the hospital with an electrolyte imbalance? What if nausea and vomiting make you so unwell and fatigued that you cannot go to work, care for yourself, or care for your other children? What if nausea and vomiting last much longer than the usual first trimester, and sticks around well into the second trimester or sometimes plagues you for the entire pregnancy?

It's important to know that nothing you did caused you to have hyperemesis. Nothing your partner has done has caused you to have hyperemesis. Having hyperemesis doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with your baby. And it’s certainly not because you haven’t been taking care of yourself.

Hyperemesis Gravidarumis is often poorly understood, with friends and family - and even sometimes health professionals - dismissing the woman’s symptoms as “normal morning sickness” which can lead to women who are seeking help being under-treated or experiencing stigma around how “badly” they’re coping with a “normal” process like pregnancy.

But Hyperemesis Gravidarumis is more than just “morning sickness”. Often women with HG are so unwell that they are not able to work and are housebound for months on end because they cannot get out of bed. Not only are the physical effects potentially very serious for mother and baby, it can often lead to financial hardship due to the inability to work, and has the potential for significant psychological impact due to the isolation and shame experienced when seeking help. Women who experience HG are often very traumatised by their experience.

The longer the symptoms of HG go untreated, the worse they become.

The sooner you seek help from a caring, skilled and knowledgeable pregnancy care provider who understands HG: its causes, its significance, and its treatment; the sooner you can work towards minimising the impact that Hyperemesis Gravidarumis has on you, your pregnancy, and your life.