So Your Misses Got Hyperemesis (Gravidarum)

The hospitalization became a break from the frustrating routine of the early weeks of our pregnancy with hyperemesis. It gave us a chance to pause from the race, reflect on what we had been through so far, and plan for the road ahead.

We returned from the hospital filled with insights and driven with purpose. The most important conclusion we reached was that, for the foreseeable future, my wife would need to combine drinking fluids by mouth with IV fluids—preferably drinking orally as much as possible to avoid the needle pricks she feared.

In terms of drinking, we decided to search for more sources of fluids besides soup and new ways for her to drink them. In fact, the previous chapter about drinking with hyperemesis gravidarum is largely based on the recipes and drinking methods we discovered during this time.

At the same time, we tried to figure out how my wife could receive regular IV fluids in a tolerable way. The hospital explained to us that we should only return there for emergencies or when there was no other option. They referred us to a local clinic near our home so my wife could receive regular IV infusions.

We began visiting the nearby clinic every 3-4 days, trying to stay ahead of dehydration. The nurses at the clinic got to know my wife and her treatment challenges: her PTSD required them to have a lot of patience. The semi-dehydrated state in which my wife regularly arrived at the clinic made finding veins a complicated task that didn’t always succeed. In those cases, the nurses referred us back to the hospital.

The nurses at the clinic treated my wife with professionalism, kindness, and understanding. They became her regular care team over the following months. But during that early period, when we were still trying to figure out what to do, even they didn’t have a structured treatment protocol for women with hyperemesis gravidarum to guide us on how to manage moving forward