The complicated Latin name – hyperemesis gravidarum – is nothing more than another term for particularly severe nausea that interferes with the joy of future motherhood. The unpleasant aspects of waiting for a child are rarely mentioned, because pregnancy is one of the phenomena positively perceived by society. Unfortunately, however, not all women can fully enjoy the charms of the different state.
In the movies it looks something like this: the woman sits down to breakfast, then covers her mouth with a smooth movement and stands up, then disappears into the toilet for a while. From there, you can hear sounds accompanying violent nausea, and after a while the woman with a mischievous smile declares to the astonished man, “honey, we will have a baby.” Cinematography usually spares us any further development of the woman’s condition during the nine months leading up to the (otherwise not easy) experience of childbirth.
In fact, many women struggle not only with morning sickness throughout their pregnancy, but also midday, afternoon, afternoon tea, evening and night sickness, and vomiting does not necessarily do the job. When this ailment becomes a significant obstacle in functioning – for example, there is anorexia nervosa associated with attacks of nausea, or a woman is really unable to absorb food, because immediately after consumption, the contents of the stomach are thrown into the esophagus and expelled outside – we deal with hypermesis gravidarum, incontinent vomiting of pregnant women.
Bothersome nausea in pregnancy
Of course, just as women’s bodies differ, so do the ways in which pregnancy passes. Some lucky ladies do not feel sick at all, others experience it around the third month of pregnancy, and others all the time. The intensity of symptoms also varies, which can sometimes be overcome with a mild herbal tea (for example, dill), while at other times preparations lower the level of gastric juices and create a liquid protective barrier on the surface of the stomach contents, thanks to which the gaseous contents do not irritate the esophagus, sometimes helpful munching on almonds or almond flakes as soon as we feel we are starting to feel sick.
Hypermesis gravidarum is very nuisance and significantly interferes with normal functioning. As a result of difficulties in eating, there is usually a significant decrease in body weight (around 5%), as well as dehydration and ion imbalance, and anemia (anemia). Although there is no risk to the fetus from hypermesis gravidarum even in very severe cases of this syndrome, hospitalization is necessary for the mother’s well-being.
Diagnostic diagnosis is based on the exclusion of other common factors causing vomiting and weight loss, such as inflammation inside the digestive system or hyperthyroidism. Hospitalization is aimed at nourishing the patient – intravenous fluid administration should restore the lost electrolyte balance and rehydrate the body. Further indications include changes in the diet, and in the case of no improvement or its unsatisfactory level, pharmacotherapy is implemented with the use of medications that are best tolerated by the patient.
Gagging in pregnancy – can it be avoided?
Prevention of gestational incontinence (hypermesis gravidarum) is not the easiest thing to do, as the etiology of this problem has not been clearly identified so far. Some associate it with the activity of gonadotropins produced by the embryo, others blame the concentration of progesterone or estrogens, and even thyroid hormones. The most widely accepted (and least telling of the exact source of the problem) hypothesis is the hypothesis that blames mental and somatic factors for the uncontrolled vomiting of pregnant women.
In order to protect yourself from hypermesis gravidarum during pregnancy, it is worth taking multivitamin supplements in the period preceding the planned conception. According to the results of statistical studies, there is a correlation between the intake of vitamin supplements and the occurrence of incontinent vomiting during pregnancy.
As medicine and pharmacology are not able to unequivocally deal with the problem of hypermesis gravidarum, women who are afraid of this kind of disorders willingly use the means offered by folk or alternative medicine. For example, the Asian acupuncture practice is one of the methods used to deal with persistent nausea.