So Your Misses Got Hyperemesis (Gravidarum)
Chapter 6: IV Fluids For Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Part 9: When IVs Are No Longer Enough for Hyperemesis – Preparing for a PICC Line
My wife’s regular IV treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum lasted about two months, from week 14 to week 22 of pregnancy. It was a grueling, exhausting, and painful time – but necessary. Deciding that my wife would stop drinking fluids orally and rely entirely on IVs was an extreme choice, but it was the right one for us, and likely saved both her life and the baby’s.
Remember, in many places, there’s an option for home hospitalization. For us, it didn’t work out, so we arranged for her to receive IV fluids every other day at the clinic, with weekends (and emergencies) handled at the hospital. However, home hospitalization might be more feasible for you and could save you travel time and extended stays outside the home, so it’s highly recommended to explore this option.
For us, being close to the medical team was the right decision, and it was essential. The nurses and doctors who cared for us during this period were extremely professional, and we owe them so much. But as the pregnancy progressed and the hyperemesis worsened, even the highly skilled nurses struggled to find veins in my wife’s arm. They understood that a new solution was needed and began researching alternatives to the frequent IVs, which required inserting a cannula each time.
That’s how we learned about the PICC line, and that it might be the solution for IV fluids throughout my wife’s pregnancy with hyperemesis.