Do you suffer from excessive vomiting during pregnancy? Let's learn about Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Nausea and vomiting in the morning during pregnancy are common for many mothers. We affectionately call it 'Morning Sickness'. But sometimes this condition can become a little more severe. Today we are going to talk about a condition where you cannot keep anything down, you vomit several times a day, and your body loses weight. In medical terms, we call this Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) . This is very different from normal Morning Sickness and requires medical treatment.

Is this normal morning sickness? Or is it Hyperemesis Gravidarum? Let's know the difference.

Many mothers think that this is just a mild case of morning sickness. But there is a clear difference between the two. Imagine, your friend is nauseous in the morning, and you are nauseous too. But if it is so bad that you can't eat anything or drink water all day, that is not normal.

Simply put, about 80% of pregnant women experience morning sickness. It can cause nausea and sometimes vomiting once or twice a day. But they can usually keep some food and drink down. This condition usually subsides by the end of the first trimester.

But Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is a completely different and more severe condition. In this, vomiting becomes unbearable. This leads to weight loss and dehydration. This condition can continue beyond the first trimester, and possibly until the baby is born.

Let's look at this table to understand this difference better.

What are the symptoms of Hyperemesis Gravidarum?

This condition usually begins around 6 weeks into pregnancy. These symptoms can make you so uncomfortable that you can't do your daily activities.

Mainly visible features

• Severe nausea: A feeling of nausea that lasts all day and is so severe that you can't do anything.
• Vomiting more than three times a day: This is not normal, but rather constant vomiting.
• Weight loss: Losing more than 5% of your pre-pregnancy weight. For example, if you weigh 60 kg, you will lose more than 3 kg.
• Inability to keep food and drink down: A condition where vomiting occurs again even after drinking a little water.
• Dehydration: The loss of enough water from the body. This causes the mouth and lips to dry out, the amount of urine produced decreases, and the urine becomes dark yellow.
• Dizziness and lightheadedness: Feeling so lightheaded that you can't even stand up, and feeling dizzy.
• Extreme fatigue: Feeling very tired even when just being there.
• Fainting: Sometimes you may lose consciousness and fall.
• Headache: Persistent headache.

Rarely seen severe symptoms

• Low blood pressure
• Rapid heart rate
• Dry skin
• Confusion
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin) due to liver damage
• Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome: A very serious condition that affects the brain due to vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency.

Why does this situation occur?

The exact cause of this has not yet been found, but the main suspicion is that it is due to the hormonal changes that occur in the body during pregnancy.

Simply put, when we conceive a baby, our body's hormones undergo a major transformation. One of the main players here is a hormone called HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) . This hormone is produced by the body during pregnancy, and it increases very rapidly and in large quantities. HCG levels peak around 10 weeks into pregnancy. This is when many mothers experience the most severe symptoms. Therefore, it is believed that there is a strong connection between this HCG hormone and HG.

In addition, the hormone estrogen, which increases during pregnancy, may also contribute to this nausea and vomiting.

Who is most at risk for this condition?

Some people are more likely to develop Hyperemesis Gravidarum than others. These risk factors include:

• Having HG in a previous pregnancy: If you had this condition while you were having a baby before, you are more likely to have it again during your next pregnancy.
• Having twins or more babies: The more babies you have, the higher your HCG hormone levels will be. Therefore, the risk is higher for mothers who are expecting twins or triplets.
• This is your first pregnancy.
• If someone in the family (mother, sister) has severe morning sickness or HG: This may have some genetic influence.
• Having conditions such as migraines or motion sickness.
• Having a condition called Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD), which is an abnormal growth of cells in the uterus.

What are the treatments for this?

Treatment depends on the severity of your symptoms. The most important thing is to talk to your doctor about this and choose the treatment that is best for you. There are things you can do at home, as well as treatments that require hospitalization.

How long will this condition last? Will it affect the baby?

This may scare you, and rightly so. But the good news is that with proper treatment, you and your baby can be fine.

• Duration: Some people experience a decrease in symptoms after the first trimester. Others may have this condition more or less throughout their pregnancy. But after the baby is born, almost all of these symptoms disappear completely.
• Effects on the baby: If you take the necessary treatment under medical supervision, there is usually no effect on the baby. However, if conditions such as excessive weight loss or severe dehydration are not treated, the baby can rarely be born with low birth weight or be born prematurely.
• High-risk pregnancy: If you have HG, doctors will consider your pregnancy to be high-risk. That doesn't mean there's anything to worry about, but it does mean you and your baby will be monitored more carefully and more frequently .

When you should definitely see a doctor

Don't just stay home and suffer, thinking that severe vomiting is "normal" during pregnancy. If you have these symptoms, see your doctor immediately.

• If you can't eat anything because of nausea that lasts all day.
• If you continue to vomit more than three times a day for several days.
• If you feel like your body is losing weight .
• If you feel dizzy , lightheaded, or faint .
• If the amount of urine you pass has decreased significantly, or if your urine turns a dark yellow/orange color.

At a time like this, you may need to be admitted to the hospital's Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU) and given the necessary saline and medications.