New report into severe pregnancy sickness

The charities Pregnancy Support Sickness (PSS) and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) have released a new report into the impact on women of severe pregnancy sickness (Hyperemesis Gravidarum).  It estimates that 10,000 women every year are affected by extreme nausea and vomiting during their pregnancies and it specifically focuses on women who have ended up terminating wanted pregnancies because of it (the report surveyed 70 women from the UK who had chosen to end their pregnancy in the last 10 years because of severe sickness).

The report suggests that there are shocking variations in the medical support and treatment that different women were offered.  For example fewer than one in ten of women affected said they were offered steroid therapy and 47% of those surveyed said they had either asked for medication, but it had been refused, or they were not offered any.

Caitlin Dean, chair of Pregnancy Sickness Support, says “Many women are under the illusion or advised by their healthcare professionals that there are no safe treatments that can be used in pregnancy. But there is a range of medications all known to be safe and effective which have been around for more than 50 years.”

Dr Daghni Rajasingam, RCOG spokesperson, says, “HG is well understood and should be taken very seriously. We can start by giving women tablets to help the sickness, then, if necessary, bring them into hospital to receive intravenous fluids and nutrition and, in very severe cases, treat with steroids”.

For more information on Hyperemesis Gravidarum see our info page here 

Read the full report here

BBC article about the report here

RCOG statement here