Extreme morning sickness can overshadow pregnancy

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – One of the happiest times in a woman’s life is when she learns that she is going to have a baby.

But this early joy can be overshadowed by extreme morning sickness, referred to in the medical community as Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, brought this to the world’s attention when it was announced she was hospitalized for it in 2012 during her first pregnancy.

When the Royal Family released the news a few weeks ago that she was expecting her second child, it stated Middleton was suffering from the acute morning sickness once again.

Dr. Michael Farmer, the Head of Family Practice at BC Women’s Hospital, says if you have it before you are likely to have it again. He says about 15% of his patients suffer from it.

Farmer explains the most common symptom is the constant vomiting. “It would start at five or six weeks and typically it is going to peak around nine or 10 weeks.  One would hope by about 13 weeks, the end of the first trimester, that it is settled.  But unfortunately there are some women that have it right through the duration of their pregnancy, and not just in the mornings, they have it all day long.  But a typical patient would have it early on and hopefully be finished by the end of their first trimester.”

Farmer says extreme morning sickness must be treated immediately, so the soon-to-be-mom can keep food and liquids down.

“These are the women we have to bring into the hospital and usually give them intravenous rehydration and get them back on their feet.  Weight loss is not normal, so if you are losing weight, most likely it is because you are vomiting too much or you are just not able to eat.  Weight loss in early pregnancy can be a concern and if you are losing let’s say more than 5 per cent of weight, that’s quite concerning.”

Farmer finds some patients benefit from ginger or vitamin B6 to help ease the nausea.

He says over the last 15 years, doctors in Obstetrics have been using a prescription drug to treat pregnant women who suffer from severe morning sickness.

“It has been around for many years, [it] was originally used in the operating room for chemotherapy patients, [and] it is an amazing medication for controlling nausea of pregnancy.”

For women who are experiencing this, it might be an early predictor of what you may see on delivery day.

He adds Hyperemesis Gravidarum is more commonly seen in women expecting twins.