Dealing With Severe Morning Sickness
For the majority of women, morning sickness will strike within the first 8 weeks of their pregnancy. Some of these women will develop severe morning sickness that may require hospitalization due to a loss of fluids. If you are experiencing morning sickness, you should know what symptoms to look for as well as how to treat them.
The medical term for severe morning sickness is hyperemesis gravidarum, which basically translates to excessive vomiting during pregnancy. It only occurs in a small amount of pregnancies, but if it does occur, it is likely that some kind of treatment will be needed. Treatments range from medications to fluid replacement via an IV in the hospital. There is no known cause for this form of morning sickness and it cannot be prevented.
Women with hyperemesis gravidarum will have many of the same symptoms as a woman will regular morning sickness, except the symptoms will be much more severe. She may have extreme nausea that doesn’t let up and may vomit several times a day. Also, it is typical that she cannot keep any food or drink down which can quickly lead to dehydration.
If you are not sure whether your nausea and vomiting are quite so severe, there are other symptoms you can look for to make that determination.
- You may notice that you have such a strong aversion to foods that you don’t want to even attempt to eat or drink anything.
- Your weight may drop by more than 5%. You should keep track of your weight if you’re extremely sick, so that you’ll notice if this should happen.
- You suddenly have a decrease in urination. This is a major symptom that you are becoming dehydrated and should be taken seriously.
If you think you may have this condition, it is important to contact a doctor right away. You will likely need medication to help control the nausea and vomiting as well as fluid replacement. It is important to treat the dehydration because it can be dangerous not only for yourself, but also your unborn baby.
