Case Study: Morning Sickness After Baby's Birth

I have recently began to compile a small-but-growing list of morning sickness (NVP) coping tips under a new side bar on this blog. Check it out, and let me know if you know of any great online lists to add!

One of the lists is Morning Sickness Survival Tips from Sara Elizabeth at A Mama's Story.

As an interesting side note, Sara is one of those rare ladies who experienced continuing full-blown NVP (nausea and vomiting of pregnancy) after the birth of her baby. (See this blog for a documented case of post-birth HG.) Scroll down to the end of the post to read her story, from which I quote here:

"My fifth pregnancy was worse. I was sick in the beginning and lost a good bit of weight. Then around halfway through my pregnancy, nausea and vomiting returned.  As for the baby, he was fine, healthy, and was my biggest. After the birth, I continued being sick, the entire 1/2 inch of my hairline fell out, as well as other patches, and my chemistry lab was “indicative of someone with an eating disorder.” By the time he was 3 months old, I was in a size zero–way too thin for my height.

"Looking back, I believe Diastasis Recti played a part in my continuing sickness; but I was too stubborn. During the pregnancy, I felt I was doing my duty by avoiding the “big guns.” By my final month, I came to grips with reality and talked to the CNM about medicine, since not eating or drinking as I should wasn’t good for either of us. While I think there was a physical issue that led to the symptoms, I believe I went too long. After working as hard as it could for the baby, my body simply collapsed after the birth. If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve talked to her sooner."

I am always fascinated by these rare but very real cases of post-birth NVP. (I too experienced nausea that continued for quite some time - that is, about two years - after baby's birth, though I did not experience full-strength post-birth NVP.) There simply isn't a lot (or anything, really) in the medical knowledge-base about this condition, but I have heard it mentioned by many severe-NVP mamas.

I echo the sentiment that NVP/HG can have severe, long-lasting consequences on a mama's body, especially when it is gets of out of control. I have experienced this. Competent and sympathetic management are so crucial to dealing with this nasty condition.

Thanks to Sara for sharing this post about her experiences!