Pregnant women with severe vomiting condition like Kate Middleton ‘consider abortions and suicide’

Thousands of women in the UK may be being driven to terminate their pregnancies each year because of a condition that causes severe vomiting during gestation.

A survey of more than 5,000 women with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), published today, is the largest study ever into the ‘devastating’ illness.

It found that 5 per cent of HG sufferers terminated a planned pregnancy because the symptoms become too overwhelming, while more than half considered it. 

A quarter of affected women said they experienced suicidal thoughts, while 6.6 per cent regularly considered taking their own life.

HG, which Kate Middleton famously suffered while carrying Prince George, can lead to dehydration, weight loss and serious mental health problems.  

Up to one in 30 pregnant women suffer from the HG each year in the UK and US. It causes persistent and excessive nausea and vomiting.  

King’s College London researchers, who conducted the survey, argued it was critical pregnant women can get rapid access to anti-sickness medication. 

The survey, published today in Obstetric Medicine, revealed 4.9 per cent of women said they terminated a wanted pregnancy because of HG, while 52.1 per cent considered it.

Previous studies have found as many as 15.2 per cent of women with the condition had an abortion. 

Women were more likely to get an abortion if HG left them unable to look after their existing children, or felt it was the only way to stop suicidal thoughts, the researchers said.

They survey allowed women to write comments as well as responding to multiple choice questions.

One woman said she doesn’t think she will ‘ever get over it’, but ‘had no other option at the time.’ 

Another described deciding to have an abortion ‘to avoid losing my new job and home for my first child, which I had rented after 6-months of homelessness’. 

Meanwhile, 25.5 per cent of women said they experienced occasional suicidal thoughts and 6.6 per cent had them regularly.

Women who had support from family, friends and healthcare providers were less likely to have suicidal thoughts.  

The study was developed as a collaboration between the BBC and the Pregnancy Sickness Support charity, who sent it to their members. 

Some study participants said death ‘felt preferable’ to constant nausea and vomiting, with 19 women (0.4 per cent) stating that they ‘hoped to not wake up each morning’.

And 184 women said they decided not to have another baby because of the condition. 

More than two-thirds of sufferers were ‘bedridden most of the time’ and needed support.

Senior author, Professor Catherine Williamson from King’s College London, said: ‘This study has confirmed the urgent need for further research into this devastating condition. 

‘We hope that the work we are currently carrying out at King’s College London will allow us to find out more about the effects that hyperemesis gravidarum has on both the mother and developing child and also about what causes this illness. 

‘By answering these questions, we will be able to develop more effective treatments, improving the care of these women.’

HG had a ‘marked and deleterious effects’ on affected women’s daily lives, the researchers said, as they struggled to work, which increased feelings of isolation and financial strain.  

Some 85.7 per cent of women took prescribed medication for the condition.

But around half of these women had to actively request the treatments.

Medicines to treat the condition’s symptoms include anti-sickness drugs, vitamins B6 and B12, as well as steroids.

And some women are admitted to hospital to receive hydration treatment through an IV. 

Four in 10 women said their experiences with primary and secondary care was ‘extremely poor’, while nearly a third said it was ‘poor’. 

Those who reported having bad experiences with healthcare staff were more likely not to have taken medication or received rehydration treatment, compared to those who said they had ‘excellent’ care.

One commented that ‘any requests for help were met with ‘you will have to visit your GP’ which was impossible as I couldn’t leave my bed’. 

The researchers noted that many descriptions attitudes from healthcare staff ‘were negative and revealed a lack of knowledge surrounding HG’.

And unanswered questions and a lack of clarity around the safety of medication for HG increased anxiety among women about the health of their babies. 

At the time the survey was conducted, 18.6 per cent of respondents were experiencing symptoms and 28.3 per cent had suffered from the condition in the last year.

Some 43.7 per cent of women reported severe sickness in one pregnancy, while the remainder suffered it in multiple pregnancies. 

Dr Caitlin Dean, chair at Pregnancy Sickness Support, which runs a helpline for the condition, said: ‘Sadly, while there are pockets of excellent care for hyperemesis gravidarum and individual staff who treat the condition well, this is still not the norm and the experiences of these women are very much representative of the many calls we receive daily to our charity. 

‘There remains to this day a persistent stigma around pregnancy sickness which hampers access to treatment and results in women losing their desperately wanted babies.’ 

The Duchess of Cambridge suffered from the condition when expecting her first child Prince George in 2012 and was admitted to hospital for three days. 

In an interview last year, she revealed she was ‘not the happiest of pregnant people’ and turned to meditation and deep breathing to get through the symptoms.