Queanbeyan Hospital’s Maternity Unit recently held a surprise baby shower for Jana Ethell, in the lead up to the birth of her baby.
Jana came to know the staff extremely well during her pregnancy – as the unit’s inaugural participant in a Southern-wide Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) project, involving both Maternity and Hospital in the Home. Jana attended the unit twice a week for treatment since nine weeks into her pregnancy.
“We’d like to congratulate Jana - we are so proud of her!” said Maternity Unit Manager Emma Mann. “We can’t wait to meet her little one soon.”
Many pregnant women feel sick (nausea) and, or may vomit during early pregnancy. This can vary from mild to moderate and still be considered part of the normal experience of pregnancy. People used to call this “morning sickness” but we now refer to it as nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, or NVP.
In mild and moderate NVP, women are still able to eat and drink. Around 7 in 10 pregnant women will experience NVP, but they usually feel better after the first trimester.
When nausea and vomiting become severe, lasting for more than a few days, women will find it hard to eat or drink enough. This severe NVP is called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).
Around 1 in 100 pregnant women will experience HG, although this number may be higher. It may lead to dehydration (lack of fluid in the body) and cause weight loss and vitamin deficiencies.
HG usually starts early in pregnancy, before women are 16 weeks pregnant. For most women, HG stops between 13 to 20 weeks, while a few women have HG their entire pregnancy.
HG can have a big impact on women’s emotional, mental and physical health. There is a lot of help available to ease your symptoms during pregnancy. Your pregnancy care provider will develop a treatment plan with you based on your symptoms and their severity.