A mum whose morning sickness was so bad she lost two stone and was left bedridden for three months said she would have been forced to terminate the pregnancy were it not for her family’s support.
Sarah Vickery, 38, was unable to eat or care for her toddler after suffering hyperemesis gravidarum – an extreme type of morning sickness that causes severe nausea – during her second pregnancy.
The public health nurse lost two stone as a result of the condition, and became so weak that she was left bedridden.
She ended up needing to go to hospital six times while husband Matt, 39, took care of their two-year-old, Hannah.
Sarah, from Newcastle, said: ‘At around five weeks pregnant I started feeling tired and sick, and I was vomiting a few times a day, but within a week I was being sick all day long.
‘I couldn’t get out of bed because as soon as I moved I would vomit.
‘The list of things I could eat got smaller until there was nothing and I couldn’t drink either.
‘I didn’t notice how much weight I was losing but my husband would tell me how skinny I looked, and I shocked a couple of people with how much weight I’d lost.
‘I had just come back from holiday when I found out I was pregnant, so people had commented on how well I looked, then the next time they saw me I was really thin.
‘I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t look after my little girl and I missed her second birthday because I couldn’t get downstairs. It was really scary.
‘If I didn’t have my husband and family, I would have had to have a termination, and some women who suffer with it do end up having to do that.
‘I needed assistance to get to the shower, and to look after a toddler was impossible.’
Sarah was not able to eat or drink for three months without throwing up.
She was forced to take time off work at eight weeks along, and was hospitalised twice before she was put on steroids at 17 weeks to help with the symptoms.
She said: ‘The steroids changed the symptoms. I had no appetite, no enthusiasm and I just felt out of it. It felt like a constant hangover.
‘I didn’t want to complain because lots of people want to be pregnant and lots of people thought I should have made the most of it.
‘I definitely won’t have any more [kids]. If I’d have had this experience with my first pregnancy then there’s no way I would have had another.’
Despite concerns over the health of mum and baby, almost immediately after the birth of their son Travis, Sarah’s symptoms disappeared and little Travis, now one-week-old, had continued to grow.
Sarah said: ‘I feel like I’m me again. I can get excited again.
‘I can enjoy spending time with my toddler and just to leave the house, which I couldn’t even think about before.
‘The baby was alright and getting everything he needed even though I was losing weight, so that was reassuring.
‘I’ve got my huge appetite back, and after I’d given birth I had the biggest meal.’
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk
MORE : Pregnant mother pulled three drowning girls to safety in Lake Michigan
MORE : Trans man who gave birth to two children says he let people think pregnancy bump was a beer belly
MORE : Mum left disabled by pregnancy doesn’t know if she will ever walk again
The lifestyle email from Metro.co.uk
The Fix
Get your need-to-know lifestyle news and features straight to your inbox.
