Research on HG's short- and long-term effects is desperately needed and needed now. We need to do more to find a cure for this disease that has such devastating effects on a growing number of soon-to-be mothers.
Typical Challenges
Mothers with hyperemesis face a number of challenges that can be difficult for others to understand. Although your experience may be somewhat different from others,�you will�undoubtedly share similar emotions, as well as�triggers of nausea and vomiting. Knowing you are not alone can be very reassuring and helpful.
Food Aversions/Cravings
One of the most common experiences among women with HG is food aversions and cravings. It is likely due to several factors including your body chemistry and hormones. You will likely have intense and bizarre cravings and aversions that those around you will need to accept and support. It's not something you can control if you try harder, and ignoring your preferences can greatly worsen your symptoms, especially during the early months. Cravings often appear for only a short time – maybe just a few minutes, and need to be fulfilled if at all possible. The primary goals to focus on are staying hydrated and increasing your food intake as much as you can tolerate. Often a woman's whole life becomes centered around food. You may feel desperate to find anything you can eat, but also terrified at the thought of eating since it may make you vomit. Just do the best you can and don't worry about your baby. Your baby does not need much food in the early months.
Hyperolfaction
Another almost universal challenge with HG is hyperolfaction, which is also thought to be hormonal in origin. This essentially means your sense of smell is greatly increased, making it possible for you to smell what others don't. It can be frustrating and distressful. Along with an increased sense of smell, are changes in taste. Food may have strange textures or tastes to you and become aversive. It is not something you can control since the sense of taste is linked to many factors including hormone changes and one's perception of odors. Once you identify what odors trigger your nausea/vomiting, avoid them at all cost. This may mean you have to avoid entering the kitchen, riding the subway, being around smokers, traveling, eating away from home, changing diapers, etc. Unfortunately, there is no treatment other than time. It may ease by mid-pregnancy, but may last until delivery.
With both of these challenges, aggressive care that decreases your vomiting and nausea can decrease the intensity and make it easier for you to cope. Interestingly, drugs such as the serotonin antagonists (Zofran, Kytril, Anzemet) seem to make some women less sensitive to odors and motion, as well as food aversions. Whether this is because the women on these drugs may have less nausea and vomiting, or if it is an unusual effect of the drug is not known. What is known is that the more severe the woman's symptoms, the more sensitive she is to triggers of nausea and vomiting. Eliminating as many triggers from your environment as possible is very important.
Updated on: Mar. 24, 2010
Beyond Morning Sickness 
The Proving Grounds