EMMA'S PREGNANCY NIGHTMARE 'I SPENT ALL DAY VOMITING!'

The Matakana mum's morning sickness was so extreme, she was hospitalised 20 times

- Sharon Stephenson

Emma Michelson thought she knew what to expect when she fell pregnant with her first child. But the 37-year-old didn't think it would include suffering from morning sickness so severe that she was unable to get out of bed, or keep any food or liquid down. Or that she'd be hospitalised 20 times during two pregnancies!

"I had hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme form of morning sickness I'd never even heard of," says Emma, who lives in Matakana with her partner, digital designer Richard O'Brien, and their two children, Ollie, nine, and Sophia, seven.

Believed to be caused by rising hormone levels, hyperemesis gravidarum brings persistent nausea, vomiting and dehydration during pregnancy, and is estimated to affect around 3% of pregnancies worldwide.

"It was horrific," recalls Emma. "I was trying so hard to be brave, but I couldn't eat or drink and would spend all day vomiting."

At the time, Emma and Richard were living in Sydney, where a number of doctors dismissed her condition.

"I went to my GP and to the emergency department at the hospital several times, and each time they basically said it was normal to feel sick when you're pregnant and sent me on my way! I was riddled with anxiety because I wondered whether it was my fault and if I was strong enough to be pregnant."

Eventually, thanks to Emma's persistence, she was given IV fluids. But her nausea was so bad, she resigned from her job as a graphic designer and moved to Northland, where her parents looked after her until Richard was able to move back.