Royal Baby Announcement: Severe Pregnancy Sickness

Rosie Dodds, Senior Policy Adviser for NCT, has recently featured in a number of press articles speaking about the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy and dealing with severe morning sickness.

The NCT has released the following press statement, which may be of interest to anyone suffering from severe pregnancy sickness:

"NCT is thrilled to learn about the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy, we offer our sincere congratulations to both William and Catherine as they start their exciting journey into parenthood. However, we are very sorry to hear about the hospitalisation of the Duchess due to hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe pregnancy sickness. 

"It's thought around 80% of pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, usually between 8 and 12 weeks of pregnancy. Around 1% suffer from the more severe hyperemesis gravidarum, which is persistent vomiting, so that hospitalisation is generally necessary for intravenous fluids.

"A variety of strategies can help different women to ease the symptoms of nausea and vomiting when pregnant. These include avoiding possible trigger smells such as smoke, and avoiding fatty foods. Although there is limited evidence, the use of ginger, vitamin B6 and acupressure have also been found to be effective for some women, though it's always worth checking with your midwife or doctor first. The traditional remedy of eating dry foods such as toast is unlikely to do any harm.

"Some women find that they can only manage a few foods, and not necessarily nutritious ones at that. In this case it is still better to eat whatever stays down than to go hungry, as that is likely to make the sick feeling worse.

"We wish William and Catherine the best of luck with the pregnancy and hope that the Duchess is feeling better soon."

Some tips for dealing with nausea and vomiting in pregnancy from NCT's website include:

• Resting as much as possible.
• Dividing meals into more frequent snacks and smaller meals throughout the day.
• Eating separately from drinking.
• Eating dry foods such as toast, crispbread or a biscuit before getting up.
• Avoiding trigger smells such as smoke, fumes and cooking odours.
• Avoiding fatty foods.
• Eating plain foods or eating meals cold, to avoid smells that can trigger nausea.
• Drinking little and often.

More information can be found here: http://www.nct.org.uk/pregnancy/nausea-and-vomiting-pregnancy

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