Surviving severe morning sickness (Hyperemesis Gravidarum)

Before I share my tips and suggestions with you, let me give you a little bit of background story on my experiences.

Unless you have suffered from severe morning sickness, or Hyperemesis Gravidarum, it might be difficult to imagine what would lead any woman, let alone a woman who has struggled with infertility for years to consider terminating a pregnancy. Having been that woman I can see how it is possible.

With both my girls I suffered pretty severe morning sickness. With Desana I probably should have been hospitalized, but at the time I was still going through the immigration process of getting my Permanent Residence in Canada, therefore I had no medical coverage. A stay in the hospital would have cost us thousands of dollars. One day I was fine, then the next day I woke up and that was it. When the morning sickness peaked at about 9 weeks I remember laying in bed and wishing that either myself or the baby would die. I’d never felt so sick in my entire life. I've heard it compared to suffering from food poisoning - that lasts for weeks or months. I spent all day every day being violently ill. I spent months in bed or just lying on the couch watching television with a bucket on the floor next to me. I would have to guzzle down water between heaves to keep from dry heaving or throwing up bile. I lost 18 lbs. The morning sickness finally lessened at around 16 weeks.

Now I do of course love Desana to pieces, but the experience left me feeling very worried about what would happen during my next pregnancy, especially as I knew I would be working. One of the first symptoms that I was pregnant with Freya was sudden nausea one evening when I was about a week past ovulation (three weeks pregnant). Within three days I just knew, and tested for confirmation. The next morning I called my midwife and told her right away, so that if I needed medication to deal with the morning sickness I would be able to get it.

At four weeks even the morning sickness started. I spent one day being violently ill and I knew that if that kept up I would not be able to work. I think Matt had somehow forgotten what it was like when I was pregnant with Desana, because he told me if being pregnant made me that sick we were done having kids. Thankfully that was the only day I was that extremely ill and from then on I was able to be sick before my morning bus ride, hold it for the 20-30 minutes then be sick at work. Over and over again! To this day I have no idea how they didn’t figure out I was pregnant until I told them! With Freya I lost 13lbs. The morning sickness peaked at about 15 weeks, lasted until about 20 weeks then lessened to where I was only sick about 3 times a week, not 5+ times a day for the duration of the pregnancy. It was less violent than with Desana, but much longer lasting.

Now that you've read my 'credentials', let's move on to the part where maybe I can help someone out there. Taking note that I’ve not yet used medication for dealing with morning sickness, I do not believe that there are any absolute cures. However, there are a number of things that can help.

Here is what helped me.

• Ginger tea – Stock up! The morning after I found out I was pregnant with Freya I went straight to a health food store and bought a few boxes of ginger tea. Ginger tea is good for motion sickness and morning sickness. It helps settle the stomach. Also ginger cookies or ginger flavored hard candy if you can find any. The best thing about the tea is that it’s not unusual for anyone to drink tea, so if you’re drinking it around other people they aren’t automatically going to jump to the conclusion that you are pregnant. Interestingly enough my doula made me some ginger tea during my labour with Freya once I started feeling nauseated during transition. She gave me sips from a spoon in-between contractions and I ended up avoiding being sick.

• Saltines – Tried and true, they really do work. I had them stashed everywhere – my bedside table, purse, desk drawer. The only disadvantage being that they make lots of crumbs – both my work desk and my bed ended up filled with them! But that’s preferable to the alternative.

• Hard candy – Having candy to suck on is a big help. I’ve heard people suggest a peppermint flavor. However I do not recommend choosing a type of candy or flavor that you already love because you are going to associate that flavor with morning sickness for the rest of your life. Trust me, and no thank you but I’ll pass on the strawberry campinos!

• Sea-Bands – These are wrist bands that you put over an acupressure point on your wrists and it is supposed to lessen nausea, dizziness or morning sickness. The only difficulty with these is that since they are worn on your wrists, it is not at all discreet. Depending on what season it is when you are experiencing morning sickness you may be able to wear long sleeves to hide them. I only wore them for a short time because they are so tight that I would end up with bruises by the end of the day. However, once you find the pressure point you can apply pressure to it yourself. During my first labour my midwife did so and it helped relieve the feeling of sickness.

• Eat frequent small meals – Literally graze all day. As a pregnant woman your appetite is all over the place. For me personally I could go from being fine one minute to ravenously hungry the next. If I let myself reach the point where I felt that hungry, I would be sick. Keep lots of small healthy snacks handy so you can avoid reaching that point.

• Avoid your trigger smells/foods and have your love ones avoid them too – With Desana it was meat, specifically pork & sausages, with Freya it was red onions, and non-specific meats. On a related topic, avoid acidic spicy or citrus foods i
  f you struggle with heartburn during pregnancy. Or if you crave them like I did, drink as many glasses of milk as it takes to keep the heartburn at bay!

• Wear versatile layers of clothing so you can remove layers when you get too hot, or bundle up when you are cold. Heat was an extreme trigger during my last pregnancy. Having to ride the buses in early winter, with the heat blasting and a heavy jacket for outside, I nearly fainted on several occasions and was very sick afterwards.

• Get lots of sleep – Easier said than done, especially if you already have little ones. The best thing you can do is give your body the extra rest it needs. I know by the end of your pregnancy you feel like you aren’t getting any rest at all, but do your best.

The Help HER - Hyperemesis Education Research website is an amazing resource. If you think you may be suffering from HG, please speak with your caregiver. Do not suffer in silence. If your caregiver dismisses your concerns, seek out another opinion or head to an E.R.

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