Hyperemesis gravidarum is a severe form of morning sickness that involves vomiting, severe nausea, weight loss, and electrolyte imbalance, leading to dehydration. It persists throughout pregnancy and can cause stomach ulcers and esophageal bleeding. Treatment includes acupressure bands, herbs, hypnosis, and medications. It is not psychosomatic, and more research is needed to find better treatments.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is a severe form of morning sickness in pregnant women. It involves vomiting and severe nausea, which can lead to weight loss and electrolyte imbalance, as well as dehydration. Many pregnant women feel nauseous; in fact, about 70-80% of pregnant women suffer from morning sickness. Only 100% of pregnant women have hyperemesis gravidarum.
Some women experience mild nausea without vomiting during pregnancy, while others experience no nausea at all. The difference between hyperemesis gravidarum and morning sickness is the severity of the condition. With hyperemesis gravidarum, nausea with vomiting is severe. Unlike typical morning sickness, which resolves by about 12 weeks of gestation, hyperemesis gravidarum usually persists throughout pregnancy. A woman with hyperemesis gravidarum will become dehydrated and may have difficulty keeping food, if any, down.
The symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum are those typically associated with severe nausea and vomiting. They include aversion to certain foods, weight loss – at least five percent of your body weight, decreased urine output, dehydration, headaches, dizziness, and fainting. Frequent vomiting associated with hyperemesis gravidarum can cause stomach ulcers and esophageal bleeding.
While the exact cause of hyperemesis gravidarum is still unknown, the dramatic surge in hormones after conception is known to cause nausea. Research has shown that there are certain risk factors associated with hyperemesis gravidarum, including untreated asthma, a high-fat diet, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), high stress, multiples, and epilepsy, among others . If a woman has a history of motion sickness, migraine, premenstrual nausea, family members with hyperemesis gravidarum, or kidney, liver, or gallbladder disease, she may be more inclined to hyperemesis gravidarum.
In milder cases of hyperemesis gravidarum, treatment may include acupressure bands that apply pressure within the wrist to help with nausea. Herbs like ginger and peppermint can also be helpful, as can hypnosis. For more severe cases, medications such as metoclopramide or anti-reflux medications may be prescribed. When a woman is unable to keep food down, she may need to be admitted to the hospital for intravenous (IV) fluids and/or feeding tubes.
For years it was thought that women with hyperemesis gravidarum were “faking” or exhibiting psychosomatic symptoms. Even today, some doctors are slow to take a woman’s complaints seriously. Research has shown that the condition is not psychosomatic, although more research is needed to find better treatments. Some studies have shown that approximately 200 million US dollars (USD) is spent annually in the United States on the treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum.
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