Hyperemesis Gravidarum – alleviating the symptoms
What is hyperemesis gravidarum?
Morning sickness is quite common amongst pregnant women. Fortunately, for the majority it’s a temporary and minor problem. For others, though, sickness can occur at any time of the day or night and may continue throughout the entire course of the pregnancy.
For women, as with Kate Middleton, with hyperemesis gravidarum, the problem is even worse – and potentially can be quite dangerous. The vomiting is so severe that no food or liquid can be kept down, leading to shocking weight loss and possible hospitalisation.
Unlike morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum does usually persist past the first trimester (third) of pregnancy. It typically subsides by week 21 of pregnancy, but can last much longer.
We asked Stephanie James (pictured right), a Registered Osteopath, and friend of Amoralia, if Osteopathy can help Kate Middleton during her pregnancy?Osteopathy can help with the symptoms of the Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As experts we believe that hyperemesis gravidarum during pregnancy can be positively influenced with osteopathic treatment. Since each treatment is tailored to each individual needs, there is not one “magic” recipe, but a few common approaches that could help alleviating some of the symptoms. The whole body would be examined and looked at. Some example of areas that we would address in such case are:
– Stomach: the organ itself but also its innervation (around the thoracic spine 6 to 9 but also from one of the brain part)
– The “vomiting centre” is located at the base of the 4th ventricle in the brain and can be influenced by gentle cranial osteopathic techniques
– Dehydration: vomiting depletes the body tissues from water. Connective tissues, membranes are irrigated through cranial osteopathic techniques
– Breathing : mums-to-be can be stressed and their breathing impaired with the growing foetus. A gentle work around the diaphragm as well as around the cervical spine would also be included in the treatment. Such release technique would also be beneficial for equalising the problem of difference of pressure between the thoracic and abdominal cavities that can accentuate the symptoms of nausea and vomiting.
– – Shock of the tissues due to regular violent bursts of vomiting episodes: gentle techniques around the sympathetic and parasympathics systems situated along the spine would also be considered to calm down the irritated tissues and offer the body a new equilibrium.
Morning sickness linked to brighter babies
No, we’re not (April) fooling you! New research published by the Journal of Pediatrics assessed the impact of morning sickness on a child’s brain development. The study, conducted over 5 years, looked at three groups: 45 mothers who experienced morning sickness and who took a morning-sickness drug; 47 who had morning sickness but didn’t take the drug; and 29 women who didn’t have any morning sickness at all. The women had similar IQs and came from similar socioeconomic and educational backgrounds.
When the children were ages three to seven, they were assessed with a battery of age-appropriate psychological tests. All scored within the normal range of IQ. But the children whose mothers had morning sickness scored higher on performance IQ (games and tasks), verbal fluency and “phonological processing” — how well children process the sounds of letters and letter combinations. Taking the morning-sickness drug did not appear to have any negative affect on brain development, and more interestingly, “the achievements of the babies of moms who did not have morning sickness were not as high,” says Dr. Gideon Koren, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto.
“It’s important to stress it was not mental retardation or anything,” says Koren. The difference “wasn’t clinically very important; it was a few points of IQ, and other functions such as language development.”
Could this be yet another thing to worry about?? “Oh no, I’m totally healthy! I’m not being sick every hour, on the hour, so my baby isn’t developping as well as he could…” Please no! Any baby is a little miracle – ‘verbally fluent’ or not – so I would take this research with a large pinch of (smelling) salt. My mother suffered for the full 9 months, and as you can tell from the patchy writing style, I’m definitely not any more verbally fluent than my peers!
Perhaps there’s a better way of interpreting it – if you’re one of the 80% who suffer from it, then it’s a little silver lining for you. Keep munching that toast, and maybe try one of these!
Ps guess who…
How do you cope with morning sickness?
We stumbled across Lillipops the other day – a natural iced lolly designed to alleviate morning sickness. I particularly like the sound of the lemon & mint and camomille & orange flavours.
What’s meant to cause morning sickness?
Some experts believe morning sickness occurs due to an increase in the progesterone hormone which causes the uterus muscles to relax and possibly also causes the stomach and intestines to relax which leads to excess stomach acids. Other theories include an increased sensitivity to smells which triggers nausea or low blood sugar levels.
Is there a cure for morning sickness?
If you’re experiencing severe morning sickness, speak to your doctor as he/she may prescribe anti-nausea medication. But if you’re looking for a more natural way to relieve the symptoms, here are some (pretty common sense) suggestions:
- eat small meals regularly so that you keep your stomach full without feeling bloated and uncomfortable
- eat plain, low GI foods such as brown rice, wholegrain toast and porridge to keep your blood sugar stable
- if you’re having particular cravings go with your instincts – also avoid the foods you might be having an aversion to so you are giving your body what it wants
- suck on ice cubes to stay hydrated if you can’t face drinking liquids
Let us know your top tips!