I didn’t throw up once while I was pregnant.  Please don’t hate me!  I know how annoying it can be to be feeling the misery of pregnancy and hear something like ‘stretch marks?  Why, no!  Not-a-one!’  It makes me want to put my fist through their stupid white teeth.  On a side note, pregnancy has made me aggressive.

But I was expecting to throw up, a lot.  It’s what pregnant women do apparently.  So I read up on it, I like to be prepared.  But the downside to preparedness is over-preparedness and fixation.  Did you know that it is possible to die of extreme morning sickness?  Don’t freak out, I said ‘EXTREME.’

Hyperemesis gravidarum means ‘excessive vomiting during pregnancy’ it begins early in pregnancy and unlike traditional morning sickness doesn’t dissipate after the 1^st trimester.  A list of symptoms follows.

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  Severe nausea with excessive/continual vomiting

• Inability to eat
• Inability to keep down fluids, even water.
• Dehydration characterized by a decrease in urination, dry mouth, lack of tears, etc
• Weight loss of 5% or greater
• Rapid heartbeat
• Retinal hemorrhage (dry eye from dehydration)
• Shivering
• Headache/Migraine
• General disorientation
• Chalky complexion

Treatments could include;

• Intravenous fluids
• Tubal feeding
• Complete bed rest
• Various medications for the control of various symptoms
• Alternative treatments such as acupuncture and massage

If you experience some or all of the symptoms of extreme morning sickness, I urge you to seek medical attention.  While hyperemesis is rare, it can be deadly.

On a historical side note, my favorite Brontë, Charlotte is said to have suffered and ultimately died of hyperemesis gravidarum on March 31, 1855 while only four months pregnant.  She was constantly nauseous and completely unable to keep down food and water.