I Had Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Three Times
Tara Carpenter, NC, CPES.
I had severe morning sickness, a.k.a. hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), with all three of my pregnancies and each was worse than the one before …. 12 weeks with my first son, 15 weeks with my daughter that I miscarried, and the full 40 weeks with my second son.
Labor was easy compared to the weeks and months living in a nauseas torturous state where I was unable to lift my head, read a book, or drink more than a teaspoon of water. I’d give birth any day if it meant avoiding the nausea and suffering, I felt during pregnancy.
My first pregnancy …
My partner and I started to build a small home in the woods of Floyd, Virginia within a community where we kept a herd of goats we milked to make chevre cheese to sell at the local farmer’s market. We consciously got pregnant and 3 weeks after conception, I woke one day unable to get out of bed and from that day forward (until 12 weeks pregnant) I threw up what tasted like battery acid every few minutes.
I did not know the extent of what was going on, only that I must have morning sickness. I did not ask for help. Now I know that morning sickness this severe only affects 0.5-2.0% of pregnant moms. More about hyperemesis gravidarum here.
My second pregnancy….
The 2nd time I got pregnant was a surprise and I wasn’t prepared mentally or physically. I was terrified to get sick again. I hadn’t researched how to avoid HG. I was a single mom working 60+ hour weeks with no time to lay in bed too nauseous to move or work. That’s exactly what happened for a total of 15 weeks. I lost that baby only one day after my body stopped feeling sick. She was a girl, which dispelled my hope that I would only get sick with boys.
Miscarriage is common with HG because mom is malnourished, dehydrated, with a depleted immune system. That’s what happened with my baby girl. The day I stopped feeling sick I rejoiced to eat everything under the sun!! To feel the normalcy of being a woman pregnant and feeling baby flutter inside. To wake up the next day and start life in a more upbeat way. If you’ve had HG, you know the achievement to get through each day. The hard work, day in and day out, for 15 weeks only to lose baby. I lost myself for a bit and struggled with what felt to be unfair.
The third time …
The 3rd time I got pregnant, I knew I’d get sick and didn’t care. After miscarrying my baby girl I wanted to be filled with a child inside me growing and alive. I didn’t spend time building up my immune system or putting on weight in anticipation of losing 25 pounds. I couldn’t bear the emptiness in my belly after losing my baby girl and within 4 months of that also my father unexpectedly of a sudden heart attack at the age of 62.
I jumped into getting pregnant again and believed doing so would help me move out of the slump and grief I felt. I knew how bad life would become. I thought only for 3-4 months. I wasn’t expecting to be sick with HG up to the moment I pushed my baby boy into the world. 40 full weeks with him.
Never Again
I can’t let myself get pregnant again. Being pregnant destroyed my health and stole chunks from my life. I won’t wish severe morning sickness on my worst enemy. My dream of having four kids is out the window, yet I have reached a place of peace inside where I am so grateful for the two I have 🙂
Support
I offer support by phone/email for women with severe, endless morning sickness. Please share this post. If you know a woman in the throes of severe morning sickness – HELP HER. By doing so, you can stop a condition which, left to itself, can require hospitalization. Dehydration and malnourishment can occur after only 1-2 days of persistent vomiting. Watch for this and notify doctor. There can be underlying physical causes for severe vomiting during pregnancy, but don’t think for a minute that her vomiting is psychically based. Make her a tray of ice cubes using Pellegrino sparkling water and lemon rind.
Place a sliced clean lemon in her hand to smell and keep close by. Peppermint also great. Be inventive. My mother-in-law sent a pile of colorful, food magazines to pilfer through and see what jumped out. I could look through 10 of them and find one food, say strawberries. That was it I had to be able to envisualize and taste the food before I could accept that food into my body. I have never experienced this since.
Have hope …
The best suggestion I have, no matter what form of morning sickness you get, is to implement a preventative lifestyle or diet changes soon as you can. I wish I’d prepared myself for months, even years, before conceiving. Who knows if would have helped. Back then there was not the internet and cell phone group chats. I suffered alone in a dark bedroom or more than not, on the bathroom floor, lol. Nowadays there are Facebook groups and forums of women sharing their experience about what helps and commiserating together about feeling awful day after day after day after day. You can do this. If you can’t, then seek out support.
My three lights at the end of a long, pitch dark tunnel…
Severe Morning Sickness…what to eat when you can’t
Morning Sickness x’s 100…meet hyperemesis gravidarum
Morning Sickness: 10 foods for all shades of grey
May all bellies be happy!
2 replies on “I Had Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Three Times”
Morning sickness was so bad in my both pregnancies that it was killing me. I was puking and all the time was nauseating. No to morning sickness tea was the only remedy which worked with my second pregnancy and eased my sickness immediately.
Tear jerking along with the bits of humor, Tara. I remember your first pregnancy when you would ask me to please stop cooking and the way you walked like a zombie to the bathroom. In bed all day. I’d never seen anyone so sick. You’re right. Anyone with HG needs someone to help them. It is no fun. I also remember all the happiness surrounding the birth of a healthy baby boy.