Unable to eat or drink, many sufferers rely on feeding tubes, drugs and IV drips to sustain them and their unborn child. Rarely known about and often mis-diagnosed, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or HG, affects countless women around the world. It has no boundaries and the cause is unknown due to the lack of medical research. Some women and their doctors see no way to survive except through termination.
The lack of research funding and awareness leaves pregnant women to suffer while their world around them collapses. HG women feel truly misunderstood and isolated. In 2003, the HER Foundation (Hyperemesis Education & Research) was formed by my husband and I, and Kimber MacGibbon, a Registered Nurse and HG survivor.
“My wife could not eat or drink anything and lived on a feeding tube, I have never seen anyone so sick. Our lives were turned upside down, and forever changed.” Jeremy King
I remember asking my doctor if there was another woman I could talk to who had endured an HG pregnancy, and the doctor looked at me and said, “No I am sorry – you are alone.” It was then I knew that if I survived this pregnancy we would create a place where HG women could meet online to support, educate and comfort each other.
I needed to know I was not alone, because no one can truly understand the horror of HG unless they have endured it themselves.
The HER Foundation is the largest non-profit organization in the world dedicated to raising HG awareness, education and research. HER has partnered with USC and UCLA to conduct genetic research and is looking for both 1,000 HG women and 1,000 non-HG women to participate.
With thousands of registered users on the forum, the HER Foundation is dedicated to providing a place where women, family members, friends and members of the medical community can come to find a place of understanding and support. We are focused on finding causes and solutions and raising awareness in the medical and larger community. The HER Foundation community is driven by a strong desire to minimize the suffering of women with HG and to eliminate the need for aborting much-wanted babies due to misery, misinformation and desperation. HER hopes that health care professionals will find the information they need to provide consistent, proactive, and effective care for women with HG and that women and their families will find ways to better cope with this debilitating disease.
How you can help:
In an effort to raise awareness, The HER Foundation is sponsoring the first annual HG World Awareness Day on May 15th, 2012. Please visit www.HelpHER.org or www.Hyperemesis.org for more information.
Get Help Now! If a friend or family member tells you they are pregnant and unable to keep anything down and losing weight, advise them to get help immediately. Visit our website for a list of recommended physicians from other HG moms.
Participate in HG Research! We need both HG and non-HG women to join a study being conducted by USC and UCLA to help find a cause and cure. Email [email protected] to participate.
Visit HER Foundation’s Facebook page!