One mother told how she dropped four stones and nearly died of severe morning sickness.
Sarah Titmus suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) in both pregnancies and had terrible constant vomiting and nausea.
During her pregnancies, the mother of two could not keep a glass of water, could not eat, was hospitalized twice with life-threatening malnutrition, and her weight dropped to dangerous levels after losing four stones.
Sarah Titmus suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) in both pregnancies and had terrible constant vomiting and nausea.
(Image: Sarah Titmus / University of Ply SWNS)
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At one point, Sarah’s blood potassium levels had dropped so much that a doctor warned her not to wake up in the morning unless she was taken to the intensive care unit.
Fortunately, Sarah recovered from Coventry, West Midlands and gave birth to two healthy girls, now five-year-old Lihanna-Marrie and six-month-old Layla-Mya.
The condition affects about 1 in 100 women, but not much is known about it. It is well known that the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, suffered from a syndrome.
Now Sarah is sharing her experience to encourage other women to come up and take part in a groundbreaking study from the University of Plymouth looking at the food intake and well-being of women with severe pregnancy-related illness.
Sarah said, “I lost four stones and was told I was near death. It was like having a 24-hour illness for nine months.
Sarah Titmus suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) in both pregnancies and had terrible constant vomiting and nausea.
(Image: Sarah Titmus / University of Ply SWNS)
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“Fortunately, both of my daughters appear to be healthy and developing normally, but it is worrying that the severe symptoms I suffered from could have a lifelong impact on them and there is not enough knowledge about them.”
The study, which is being carried out with the support of the national pregnancy diseases charity, looks for women who are less than 11 weeks pregnant and also hopes to gain insight into pregnancy outcomes.
Sarah added, “The truth is that so many people – including health professionals – don’t understand HV. My poor partner acted as the mother and father of our oldest when I was pregnant with my second as I was bedridden.
“It can put tremendous pressure on the whole family. We need to know more about the long-term effects of the disease, so this research is crucial.”
The NOURISH study (Nutritional Online Survey for Pregnancy Induced Sickness and Hyperemesis) aims to find out if and to what extent the results of women differ from those of women with mild to no symptoms – and to provide important evidence of the effects of the disease.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) during her pregnancy.
(Image: AFP / Getty Images)
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Research to date suggests that malnutrition during pregnancy can have immediate and long-term effects on the baby, but the level of malnutrition in women with HG has never really been studied.
In addition to finding women in the first trimester with HG, the study must also recruit those in the first trimester with mild to no symptoms.
One of the researchers starting the study, Dr. Kate Maslin, Senior Research Fellow in Maternal and Child Health at the University of Plymouth, said, “There are so few studies showing who might be affected by HG and how it affects the mother and baby.
“We need women with and without illness to participate and help us provide more evidence of a disease that is so often misunderstood.
“We are particularly interested in learning more about eating habits because we know that women with serious illnesses often have difficulty keeping food or fluids down.”
Participants are asked to keep a food diary using a phone app and take part in online questionnaires.
The study, which is being carried out with the support of the national pregnancy diseases charity, looks for women who are less than 11 weeks pregnant and also hopes to gain insight into pregnancy outcomes.
(Image: Getty Images)
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Caitlin Dean, Chairwoman of Pregnancy Sickness Support, added, “Around one percent of people experience HG during pregnancy, and if someone had it once they are much more likely to have it in a second pregnancy.
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“Sarah’s experience isn’t the only one, unfortunately – we have calls every day from women trying to get through it. It really is the weakest condition of a time that should be happy and exciting.
“For everyone in the early stages of pregnancy, please do your part – do it for the mothers of the future to make sure they get as much evidence-based support as possible.”
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