New study to look at severe sickness during pregnancy
A Coventry mum is taking part
A Coventry mum who was severely malnourished due to a pregnancy sickness condition has told of her ordeal; hoping it will encourage expectant mums to inform a new study.
Sarah Titmus, had hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) in both of her pregnancies, experiencing severe and constant vomiting and nausea.
It's what the Duchess of Cambridge suffered from when she was pregnant.
From seven weeks pregnant, Sarah could not even keep a sip of water down.
Her ordeal saw her hospitalised twice – and, on one occasion, her blood potassium levels had dropped (a state known as hypokalemia) to such a level that a doctor warned her she might not wake up in the morning without intensive care support.
Sarah says:
"I lost four stones in weight and was told I was close to death.
"Fortunately both my daughters appear to be healthy and developing normally, but it’s a worry that the severe symptoms I suffered could have lifelong impacts for them and there isn’t enough knowledge about that.
"Throughout both pregnancies, it was like having a 24-hour sickness bug for nine months.”
The University of Plymouth, in collaboration with Pregnancy Sickness Support, is inviting women less than 11 weeks pregnant to take part in a study exploring the nutritional intake and wellbeing of women experiencing severe pregnancy sickness, as well as their pregnancy outcomes.
Known as the NOURISH study, it hopes to identify if, and to what extent, their outcomes differ from counterparts experiencing mild to no symptoms – and provide vital evidence on the impact of the condition.
Research to date suggests that malnutrition in pregnancy can have immediate and long term effects for the baby but the degree of malnutrition in women with HG has never actually been studied.
Caitlin Dean, Chair of Pregnancy Sickness Support, added:
"Around one per cent of people experience HG in pregnancy and, if someone has had it once, they’re much more likely to get it in a second pregnancy.
"Sarah’s experience is sadly not the only one – we deal with calls every day from women trying to live through it. It really is the most debilitating condition at a time that should be happy and exciting.
For anyone who’s in the early stages of pregnancy, please get involved – do it for the mums of the future to ensure they have as much evidence-based support as possible."