After announcing that Prince William and his wife Catharine (formerly Kate Middleton) are expecting their first baby, the Duchess of Cambridge was hospitalized with acute morning sickness, medically known as hyperemesis gravidarum.

The Duchess, who is less than twelve weeks pregnant, is staying in the private King Edward VII Hospital in Central London. According to St. James’ Palace, the Duchess “has been hospitalized with severe vomiting”.

Prince William spent much of Monday visiting his wife in the hospital. He also visited her today. Royal gynecologist Alan Farthing, and her main doctor Marcus Setchell, also visited her.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is an uncommon disorder of pregnancy. The mother has extreme and persistent nausea and vomiting. It is different from the more common “morning sickness“, also known as “nausea gravidarum”.

Hyperemesis means excessive and severe vomiting – hyper means excessive in Greek, and emesis means vomiting in Greek. Gavidarum means “during pregnancy, related to pregnancy”, in Latin.

Hyperemesis gravidarum, if not treated or controlled, can result in dehydration and malnutrition, because the persistent vomiting not only causes loss of liquids, but may also prevent adequate food intake.

Often, there is not a good diagnosis between hyperemesis and common morning sickness. According to the National Health Service, UK, between 1% and 2% of pregnant women suffer from Hyperemesis.

US Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D., in October 2005, said:

“HG is a serious pregnancy disease that causes
untold suffering among affected women.”

Experts say that with proper treatment and care, hyperemesis gravidarum very rarely leads to any serious complications, but can be extremely unpleasant.

Specialists are not sure what causes the excessive and persistent vomiting during pregnancy. Most believe that it is linked to rising serum levels of certain hormones, such as human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and estrogen.

The following women have a greater risk of developing hyperemesis gravidarum:

  • If the woman had hyperemesis gravidarum before
  • If the woman is obese
  • It is a multiple pregnancy
  • It is the mother’s first pregnancy
  • There is abnormal growth of cells inside the uterus (trophoblastic disease)

  • Meals – the mother should eat smaller meals, and more frequently. Dry, starchy foods, such as crackers, often help reduce the severe nausea symptoms, which may help her keep her food down.

  • Intravenous fluids – the mother’s fluid intake needs to be maintained. If she continues vomiting over several days or weeks, she may need IV fluids in the hospital. As soon as she is able to take fluids orally and keep them down (not vomit straight away), the IV fluids may be discontinued.

  • Medications – the doctor may recommend drugs used to treat nausea if the vomiting is severe and persistent enough to pose a potential risk to the mother and/or baby. Sometimes, drugs are given either by injection or as suppositories if she cannot take them by mouth. Examples of drugs include Meclizine, Droperidol and Promethazine.

  • Total parenteral nutrition – when symptoms are very severe, the mother may require IV nutrition throughout her pregnancy.

  • Wrist band – some women have found that wearing a pressure-point wristband helps. They are often used for motion sickness.

  • Preventive measures – some say that taking vitamin B6 and/or ginger helps reduce symptoms, and may even prevent the severe morning sickness. Any such measures should be done under the supervision of a doctor.

Written by Christian Nordqvist