| A lot of people believe that morning sickness is | | | | trimester, about 8-12 weeks, of pregnancy where the |
| something that comes naturally with pregnancy. | | | | levels of HCG shoot up. |
| Perhaps they are right. But a lot of women suffer | | | | Some of the symptoms of HG usually include loss of |
| from severe morning sickness that isn't as normal as | | | | at least 5% of pre-pregnancy body weight, |
| everyone would like think. There is such a condition | | | | dehydration, malnutrion, lack of appetite, constipation, |
| referred to as severe morning sickness. It is called | | | | excessive vomiting, broken blood vessels in the eyes |
| Hyperemisis Gravidarum (HG). HG is typically | | | | and even hallucinations. Pregnant women should be |
| characterized the loss of at least 5% of a woman's | | | | wary of these symptoms so as not to mistake HG |
| pre-pregnancy body weight. The mere idea of losing | | | | from typical morning sickness and thus avoid further |
| weight during a pregnancy should cue one into thinking | | | | complications. |
| that there must be something wrong with the | | | | Treatments for HG are usually efforts to correct |
| mother-to-be. HG is a condition that affects as much | | | | chemical and nutritional imbalances that the symptoms |
| as 1 in 300 pregnant women. It is not a condition to be | | | | cause to the body. These involve IV hydration and |
| taken lightly since its complications, if left untreated, can | | | | supplementation of the nutrients that are missing in the |
| be fatal. | | | | body. Because of the risk to the fetus, drug |
| HG is hard to diagnose because its manifestations are | | | | administration is usually not a good idea. Although there |
| very similar to your run-of-the-mill morning sickness. | | | | are a number of drugs that are believed to be safe |
| Most diagnoses of HG occur in the emergency room | | | | enough to treat HG, most doctors tend to just correct |
| where doctors have to administer emergency | | | | the nutritional and chemical imbalances and to make |
| treatment before the complications like dehydration | | | | the patient as comfortable as possible. |
| and malnutrition worsen. The cause of HG though, | | | | It is important that the people around the patient |
| remains unknown. The most promising theory | | | | understand that Hyperemisis Gravidarum is so much |
| suggests that HG is the body's adverse reaction to | | | | more than just severe morning sickness. Patients who |
| the drastic change of hormonal levels during | | | | suffer from HG may also suffer from depression, so it |
| pregnancy, especially the level of the hormone HCG | | | | is essential that her family and friends support her |
| (Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin). This would explain | | | | throughout the pregnancy. |
| why HG is most commonly observed during the first | | | | |