It’s a well-known fact by now that Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, suffered from extreme morning sickness in the early stages of each of her pregnancies. Unlucky, yes, but is it common? And can it hurt the baby?
Extreme morning sickness, or hyperemesis gravidarum, carries many of the same symptoms as morning sickness, such as nausea and vomiting, but pregnant women who suffer from extreme morning sickness generally have to be hospitalized because they can’t keep food or drink down, they’re dehydrated and they’re losing weight.
Although extreme morning sickness causes the mother to feel quite sick, the baby usually isn’t affected, said Dr. Lily Hahn, an OB-GYN with St. Elizabeth Physicians.
It isn’t common, but there are factors that can make you more prone to extreme morning sickness, including a twin pregnancy, a molar pregnancy (the result of abnormal fertilization), or an underlying psychological factor.
Treatment includes hospitalization for fluids and medications. And, unfortunately, if you suffered from extreme morning sickness in one of your pregnancies, you’re more likely to have it again in subsequent pregnancies, although the symptoms do usually taper off after the first trimester.
There are ways to treat nausea in pregnancy, such as eating five to six small meals a day instead of three large ones, eating snacks high in protein, avoiding spicy foods, eating crackers in the morning before you get out of bed, drinking ginger ale, and taking over-the-counter vitamin B6 ““ doctors also often prescribe anti-nausea medications to help ““ but if you can’t eat or drink, are throwing up around the clock and are noticeably losing weight, consult your doctor, Hahn said.
