Doctors have dismissed hyperemesis gravidarum for decades, but new research could undo this harmful legacy.

WHEN NAUSEA AND VOMITING KICKED IN THE SIXTH WEEK OF PREGNANCY, AMY AYERS AND HER HUSBAND TOM WERE ELATED. AFTER AN EARLY MISCARRIAGE A FEW MONTHS PRIOR, MORNING SICKNESS SEEMED LIKE A SIGN THINGS WERE GOING TO BE OKAY.

The stigma of the ‘hysterical’ pregnant woman persists and perpetuates this misogynistic theory,” says Fezjo.

“When people don’t understand the cause of something, it's a fairly standard assumption to simply not believe it. Just because a psychological component to [hyperemesis gravidarum] has been repeated in the medical literature over and over since Freudian theories to the etiology were introduced, does not make it a fact.”

And while medication can now help manage symptoms to avoid hospitalization, there is still no cure for hyperemesis gravidarum. The clinical symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum, however miserable, are often eclipsed by the psychosocial burdens women and their partners bear.

Over 80 percent of women with hyperemesis gravidarum suffer negative psychosocial burdens, a 2008 study revealed. These included financial issues from job loss or the added medical costs and childcare; depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

These flow-on effects affected partners as well, as shown in a 2016 analysis of post-pregnancy issues for hyperemesis gravidarum women: nearly one-third of the women reported that they had marital problems; 41 percent faced “husband strain,” such as their spouse losing a job; and 3 percent of hyperemesis gravidarum pregnancies ended in divorce or separation.

“Friends of ours would often ask about her, and I found it exhausting after a while to admit that actually, things were still terrible,” Tom says.

“It’s one thing to keep one’s friends updated about a normal illness that might last a few days or a week if it’s bad; HG, however, seemed endless. It was exhausting. The exhaustion was often emotionally numbing.”

Read more- https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/morning-sickness-kills