Pregnancy, not sickness!!

You already know that being pregnant for most ladies means a whole lot of vomiting.

There are however some women who experience Uncontrollable Vomiting (sickness) usually within the first 3 months of their pregnancy.

This condition is known as Hyperemesia Gravidarum. As a result of the frequent vomiting, a pregnant woman may end up becoming quite unwell from the effects of severe dehydration and loss of nutritional supplements.

Very quickly, your doctor can spot what is going on if you start to show symptoms of hyperemesis because during your physical check, they may also request a urine sample to check for Ketones.

When the body breaks down food substances for energy, it goes from the easiest to hardest - carbohydrate, fat and protein in that order.

Since the person with hyperemesis is not eating, the body quickly latches on to the fat stores and starts to break these down (ie it goes into a starvation situation).

When fats are broken down in the body, ketones are produced and these are removed in the urine.

Your doctor can therefore tell how severe your hyperemesis is by testing for Ketones in your urine sample.

If they are very high, you may need to be hospitalised to help stop the vomiting and the process of breaking down your fat stores.

This is done using intravenous fluids and anti vomiting medicines to help you tolerate food again.

In Hyperemesis another symptom is weight loss, and only very rarely is the baby affected.

We don't yet know how to prevent Hyperemesis, but excessive vomiting in pregnancy can be reduced by eating small amounts of food frequently during the day and protein snack at night. Regular sleep and avoiding stress can help too.

We recommend speaking with your health care worker if you have any concerns.