“The Doctors Considered Terminating my Two Pregnancies” -Joan Mwaura’s Struggle with Severe Morning Sickness

Do you know that morning sickness can be so severe, to the extent that one can be hospitalized? This is the story of Joan Mwaura, whose two pregnancies were plagued with really bad nausea and vomiting, a condition also known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum. This is her story:

“No words can express the overwhelming emotions when the doctor confirmed that my pregnancy test result was positive. I was 4 weeks pregnant! My husband and I were so excited. How would our baby look like? Boy or girl? I was over the moon and couldn’t wait to share this wonderful news with our parents and close friends.

Early the next day, I woke up feeling nauseous and I was vomiting. I reckoned it was morning sickness and knew I’d be able to handle it. I left for work. However, the frequency of vomiting increased and I even fainted on my way to work. In the days that followed, the nausea and vomiting feeling became quite unbearable and uncomfortable especially while at work and when using public transport.

I saw a doctor who gave me drugs, but they didn’t seem to help much. Nothing would get past my lips -not even water. In addition, everything and everyone around me smelled horrible, which made me vomit even more. I was left very dehydrated and completely stressed out.

In my 5^th week of pregnancy, I was admitted in hospital. Initially the nurses were unsympathetic but this changed as they took time to understand that my case was genuine. The intravenous drips they put me on helped a bit, even though I was still unable to eat anything as I would feel so repulsed and..you guessed right -vomit. My days in the hospital were agonizing, with the days being so long and nights hard to bear. The only thing that kept me going was listening to the foetal doppler where I would hear my baby’s heartbeat. That’s what kept me going.

By my 7^th week of pregnancy, I could barely stand or make it to the bathroom without help. During my hospital admission, I was ‘chauffeured’ around in a wheelchair until I became friends with the guards, cateress, and even the doctors. Actually one day we jokingly asked the manager to allow us to be paying rent rather than daily bed charges.

As the pregnancy progressed, my health became worse and no medical remedy was working. I was sick so often -in and out of hospital and ended up losing nearly half my weight. At 16 weeks pregnant, I was 39kgs, my veins had collapsed and the drips that would feed me were now connected to the veins in my feet, which was a painful experience. The doctors, realizing my system and organs were shutting down, suggested terminating the pregnancy on medical grounds because the pregnancy had become life-threatening.

While they were still considering this, by God’s intervention, another doctor in the team instead recommended expensive steroids that miraculously helped me to eat. They were also able to re-hydrate me. That was quite a relief! But this was not to last long though, as I would still continue to be admitted many times after that throughout the pregnancy. I was on bed rest for the better part of the pregnancy as any activity would trigger my severe vomiting.

Having embraced a lot of pain during the pregnancy, I was actually not afraid of labour. The only uncertainty was if the baby would be born via Caesarean section or vaginally. Thankfully though, my labour lasted for a few hours and our long-awaited baby Tashley was born on 27 March 2014. When I saw her, I felt the heavy and dark blanket of the pain and agony I had endured throughout the pregnancy go away.

That experience made me aware of the condition that I had – Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Before my pregnancy, I had never heard of it. I got to learn that it’s an extremely severe form of morning sickness that I had become a victim of.

Well, in January 2015, we realized that we were pregnant again! Tashley was barely 10 months old then! But if I thought the first pregnancy experience with severe morning sickness was bad, the second one was so much worse. In total, I spent about 3 months hospitalized cumulatively. At some point the doctors even recommended termination of the pregnancy just like the first time, but thankfully, it didn’t happen.

Being sick and admitted in hospital throughout the pregnancy made me miss some of Tashley’s milestones. I wasn’t there when she made her first steps; a major milestone that every mother desires to witness. However, amidst all the struggles, our second daughter Wema was born on 21 August 2015 at 36 weeks.

I thank God for my husband who offered his unwavering emotional, spiritual and material support. He took good care of me and was always praying for me. Hyperemesis Gravidarum is a very dreadful condition that I would not wish even on my worst enemy. There are a few lessons I learnt during those moments;

• Spiritual and emotional support is extremely key. Hyperemesis Gravidarum can force you to lose the will to live easily.
• Hyperemesis Gravidarum treatment can be quite expensive. We were rendered broke. Insurance’s maternity covers have very low limits. Financial support does really help.
• Due to its rarity, many people have a lot of misconception and superstitions. A mother struggling with this condition needs to be careful about the options given to her.

Today, and every other day that I look at my daughters, I reflect on the incredible opportunity and joy that being a mother is, amidst the tons of challenges it has taken me to be one. My experience has also made me aware of the heavy costs that some women have to pay, in their journey to motherhood. I share my story today to encourage any mother currently struggling with this condition, to be strong and to hold on to their faith in God. I also hope to educate any woman who plans to get pregnant in the future, just so that she can be aware about Hyperemesis Gravidarum, to know that she can seek help about it, and that just like me, she too can have a positive story to share at the end of it all.”

Thank you Joan for sharing your encouraging story.

Are you a Hyperemesis Gravidarum survivor? Would you like to share your story? Email me on maryanne@mummytales.com and I’ll be in touch with you.

Read Related Articles:

Vicky Gachuche: My Experience with Extreme Nausea and Vomiting in my Pregnancies

Warning Signs in Pregnancy: When to Call Your Doctor

Mummy Tales by Maryanne W. Waweru is a platform dedicated to empowering its readers on different aspects of womanhood and motherhood. Read more motherhood experiences of Kenyan moms here. Connect with Mummy Tales on: FACEBOOK l YOU TUBE l TWITTER

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