Sickness in Pregnancy 

Hyperemesis Gravidarum (Severe Sickness in Pregnancy).

Vomiting and nasea during the first trimester of pregnancy can be very common, with around 50-90% of women experiencing some sickness between 6-16 weeks (NHS, 2023).

Unfortunately, around 2-3% of pregnant women will struggle with Severe Sickness called Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) (RCOG, 2024). HG is much worse than normal morning sickness and can severely impact your work, home and social life. HG can present in the very early stages of pregnancy and continue up to giving birth. Sickness can range from infrequent strong sickness throughout pregnancy, to periods of consistent, persistent extreme sickness Many women who struggle with HG can also struggle with their mental health due to the severity of impact on your activities of daily living. Physical symptoms of HG usually completely disappear once you have given birth, often straight away.

Although there are not many things that can help with the nausea or sickness, you can be started on medication to help with the symptoms of HG by your GP/Hospital. All pregnant women have access to free prescriptions. Some medication is safe to take during pregnancy, but it is extremely important to seek professional advice from your obstetrician, Midwife or GP as soon as symptoms occur and should be treated as an emergency.

Hyperemesis can cause Dehydration, whereby you may feel extremely thirsty, tired or exhausted, generally feel unwell, passing small amounts of dark urine or not passing urine at all. If you are struggling with nausea and/or vomiting or are unable to hold down food or liquids, you need to seek medical attention, as you may need to be admitted into hospital for intravenous fluids and commenced on anti-sickness medication to control the symptoms of HG. With 1 in 5 women will need to be admitted to hospital to get their symptoms under control (RCOG, 2024).

Around half of women report an improvement in symptoms between 16-20 weeks but for some women suffering HG, their symptoms can last for the duration of pregnancy. It is imperative that you seek medical support from your Midwife, GP or Hospital Early Pregnancy/Maternity Assessment Unit to manage the symptoms and get support for your mental health.

Being sick so often can cause the enamel on your teeth to wear down, so it is important to visit your dentist to help maintain healthy teeth. All women who are pregnant and within the first 12months of their baby’s life have access to free NHS Dentist treatment.

We know that many women who suffer with HG find that the symptoms can and do have a profound effect on poor mental health resulting in needing intervention; therefore your mental health should be treated in unison of the physical symptoms to ensure that the person is well supported and has coping mechanisms and pathways to help you recover with little trauma or long lasting mental health concerns.

Although HG profoundly impacts of the woman or pregnant person who is suffering, often it’s believed that the baby is unaffected. The most important thing is to seek support early and get support with treating HG – this will not only have a positive impact on the pregnant person but will also have a positive impact on the baby too.

Our Training Director, Dani, struggled with HG during her pregnancy. This is what she had to say about it…

“I really struggled with Hyperemesis throughout my pregnancy with my first baby, it was not well managed in the early weeks, and I had 3 hospital admissions for dehydration and anti-sickness medication. My mental health was massively impacted and for many days I would be bed bound, unable to move for fear of being sick and not being able to stop, which would make me attend hospital again. My mood was low and I became so isolated from friends and family as I was so afraid to leave the house or have visitors just in case I spent all my time by the toilet. I had soooo many sick days from work or spent my working day in the toilets, it became a running joke in the office. Eventually my symptoms did get better around 24 weeks, I remained on the anti-sickness tablets, but it was well controlled with those. But by then I had lost a significant amount of weight and had very little energy to do anything. I took this time to recoup and recover, I started my maternity leave early to ensure I was feeling much better ready for my new baby. Once my baby was born the symptoms went away immediately and I was once again able to enjoy my favourite foods, which Id had to avoid during pregnancy. My story was 15 years ago and let me tell you how much more support and awareness there is now for Hyperemesis, you do not have to suffer in silence and there is so much more professionals can do to support you through this period of pregnancy. There is no shame is asking for help with the sickness or your mental health and just because you are pregnant doesn’t mean you need to struggle, it is not a normal part of pregnancy and you are not being dramatic.”

Further Information on HG can be found here:

NHS (2023): Severe vomiting in pregnancy – NHS

RCOG (2024): pi_pregnancy-sickness_2024-v12.pdf

Support for HG can be found here:

Pregnancy Sickness Support UK: Pregnancy Sickness Support | UK Charity

BUMPS: Bumps – Best use of medicines in pregnancy (Medications in Pregnancy Support).

Maternity Action: Free NHS prescriptions and NHS dental care for pregnant women and new mothers – Maternity Action (Free Prescription and Dentist Access)

.