The first few days I found the vomiting cute. It made me happy. A true sign that I was really pregnant. My friends and family showered me in words of encouragement and support. The first days turned into twelve weeks. Everyone told me that once the second trimester hit I would feel myself again. No one was showering me in encouraging words instead with phrases like, ‘you’re being really negative. Just be happy that you’re having a baby. It’ll be worth it!’ I quit talking about how sick I was.

When it came time that me and my husband were ready for a baby, we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy as I had stage 4 endometriosis. We ended up doing two rounds of IVF and fell pregnant, of course we were absolutely overjoyed and couldn’t wait to meet our miracle. By the time I was 10 weeks pregnant I had already gone to hospital for IV Fluids and an anti-nausea shot and lost 2 kilos. How could we have wanted something to badly and gone through so much to fall pregnant, then feel so shitty.

What happens when you have to turn to pharmaceuticals in order to survive your pregnancy? How do you rationalise that with all the messaging about what is/isn’t safe in pregnancy? And what if pharmaceuticals aren’t for you? Ultimately, how you choose to conduct your pregnancy is nobody’s business but yours. If you’re making informed decisions about your care, in consultation with your medical practitioners and support networks, then that’s all good with us. But there are a couple of things we’d like to mention that we think are important to consider during pregnancies marred by NVP and HG.

This year I was pregnant with my first child. I began my morning sickness at eight weeks (the second day into my honeymoon) which in my mind was perfectly normal. A few weeks past and nothing got better I seemed to get worse. Everything I was told about morning sickness seemed off with what I was experiencing.

I just want to start this by saying not all HG stories have a beautiful happy ending. Some have tough endings but I believe all stories should be told no matter the outcome.

Pregnant. That’s what that stick said. I was certain it was the flu. I had been vomiting for days. I was just nineteen. I couldn’t do this. By week 11 I was down 50 lbs, in the hospital 4 times a week for fluids and vomiting 30 times a day.

They say the most beautiful rainbows happen after a storm, but you don’t truly understand how violently brutal those storms can be until you have had to live through an HG pregnancy and walk home with empty arms. We did just that four times. Each pregnancy more taxing than the last. Which is why It’s a strange feeling when you’re ready to make an appointment to see the doctor about a hysterectomy and you find out you’re pregnant.

Pregnancy, labour and birth are one of the hardest things the human body can experience. Adding the difficulties that arise from NVP and HG and your body is going to suffer. Remember that it takes nine months to make a baby, and so it will take at least that long to recover from it. We know that it’s easier said than done, but it’s important to remember to nurture yourself during the postpartum period.

I did manage to survive and live to tell the tale. If you ever wonder why I’m here, this is it. My story right here. I have seen the lowest lows that HG has to offer and been there to support women and seen the genuine kindness of it’s sufferers. I’ve been fully supported by one of the charities. I have been there in the thick of it with you. I have fought this fight, now I want to help you fight yours.

For so many women who develop HG or NVP in their first pregnancies, it can be really hard to work out what is normal morning sickness and what is more serious. If you’ve never been in that situation before you’ve got no way of knowing if what you’re experiencing is normal or something worth seeking help for.

My husband and I always joked that we would have at least 5 children…enough to fill a netball team! For as long as I can remember I had been looking forward to being pregnant, getting that glow everyone talked about and growing a little one from scratch A lot of people had told me being pregnant was tough but I was ready…ha!

If you wanted us to give you some advice on how to survive, this would be it. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. We’ve rounded up some top tips from survivors to help get you through and, as always, we’re here if you need us.

When Caitlin told us she was pregnant, I was so excited – our first grandchild. I was nervous too, which I didn’t expect. I just wanted everything to go well – Caitlin and the baby to be healthy of course and for us all to be able to enjoy the wait. Caitlin was my first child – she was followed by 2 brothers – and I never had any sickness during any of my pregnancies. I was bursting with ‘rude good health” as my mother would say.

Without a doubt, one of the biggest questions we get at Hyperemesis Australia, and one that we have ourselves asked too many times to count is ‘what in the hell causes HG?’

The hardest part for me was feeling a complete lack of disconnect to the little life that was growing inside of me. The sickness takes over your whole life. It is hard to associate love and happiness with an experience that is leaving you for dead. And having never been pregnant before, I was yet to meet the little guy that would ultimately make it all worthwhile.

When you first fall pregnant, feeling a little queasy in the morning can be a welcome sign that everything is progressing well. If it’s your first pregnancy it can even feel like an initiation into a special club - ‘yay, I’m really pregnant!’ you might say. But if the sickness hangs around longer than you expect, or it leaves you unable to live a normal life there’s not much to celebrate. So, how do you cope with severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy?

I can honestly say that if I had known that I would have HG, and that it would last for 34 weeks and five days, I would not have had the courage to go through with my pregnancy.

223 days of constant nausea and vomiting (at least 10 times a day). 19 visits to the emergency department for dehydration. 2431 tablets taken (and only just kept down). That was the reality of my pregnancy. Women are constantly told that nothing can prepare you for how much your life changes after you have a baby. But if you ask a woman who has endured Hyperemesis Gravidarum, they will tell you that nothing can prepare you for pregnancy.

I found out I was pregnant with our son 4 days before our wedding in 2013. The news came as a surprise and instant vomiting. I knew nothing of HG so naively went off on a 3-week honeymoon to Bali where I ended up in hospital (far from ideal). They got me stable enough to fly home where I then went on to spend some 40+ more days in hospital and a further 6 months bed-bound. I needed full-time care so we moved in with my parents. I couldn’t work and I struggled to comprehend ever feeling well again. During this time I tragically lost someone very close to me. It was the darkest time of my life.

I remember lying in bed at about 8 weeks pregnant with my oldest daughter feeling violently ill and thinking two things: 1. Yay, morning sickness! Come at me pregnancy symptoms! And 2. Wow. I must be really soft coz none of my friends made this big a deal of it! I was 21, had NO idea what was normal.