MAFS: Martha Kalifatidis reveals how severe illness affects her pregnancy

Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a condition that causes persistent and excessive vomiting during pregnancy.

Sufferers may be sick many times each day and unable to keep food or water down, impacting their daily lives.

It is unlikely to harm the baby, but if it causes a woman to lose weight during pregnancy, there is an increased risk of their baby having a low birth weight.

It’s different from nausea during pregnancy — often called morning sickness — which is normal and affects eight out of 10 pregnant women. For most, this stops or improves around weeks 16 to 20.

Meanwhile, HG may not get better at this point and it may take until the baby is born.

Symptoms of HG include prolonged and severe nausea and vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, and low blood pressure.

Being dehydrated increases your risk of a blood clot – deep vein thrombosis – but this is rare.

It’s not clear what causes the condition, or why some women get it and others don’t.

Some experts think it may be related to the changing hormones in the body that occur during pregnancy.

And there’s some evidence that it runs in families, and that women who had it during their first pregnancy are more likely to get it in subsequent pregnancies.

Women who suffer from HG may be given medications to improve their symptoms, such as anti-nausea medications, vitamins B6 and B12, and steroids.

Some women need to be hospitalized if their nausea cannot be controlled with medication at home.

They may need fluids and anti-disease medications to be given through an IV.

Source: NHS