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Pregnant Kate Middleton Hospitalized for Hyperemesis Gravidarum - Which Is What?

Melanie Haiken
This article is more than 8 years old.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting the heir to the British royal throne came the news that Kate has been hospitalized with hyperemesis gravidarum.

In fact, the announcement of the royal pregnancy and Kate's hospital admission were made together, suggesting that possibly the palace would have waited longer to make the official announcement if Kate's hospitalization hadn't made that impossible.

So what is this illness so suddenly in the headlines? Attempting a rough translation from the Latin provides a basic description - it means serious vomiting, or acute morning sickness.

Of course, this begs the answer, how can morning sickness be so serious? After all, 50 percent of all pregnant women experience queasiness, nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite. And while extremely unpleasant, morning sickness isn't deadly.

Well, actually, it can be, if a woman can't get it under control on her own. As with any kind of extreme gastrointestinal illness, vomiting to the point that it leads to extreme dehydration can be quite dangerous. Left untreated, hyperemesis gravidarum can result in premature birth or low birth weight, and extreme continual vomiting can tear the esophagus. If electrolytes become unbalanced, the result can be dizziness and eventually, heart damage.

But primarily it's the dehydration and malnutrition resulting from hyperemesis gravidarum that most urgently require treatment. This is the same reason people die of heat illness - beyond a certain point, dehydration puts organs like the kidneys and liver under dangerous strain. Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte died of severe dehydration resulting from hyperemesis gravidarum in the fourth month of her first and only pregnancy; today, with IV fluids available, the condition is treatable.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is quite rare; only two percent of all pregnant women experience symptoms this severe, according to the Honor Society of Nursing. Kate Middleton is 30, like her husband, which, while in the middle range for pregnancy age, makes morning sickness more likely. Studies show that older moms typically have more problems with morning sickness and other pregnancy-related health issues than younger women.

According to news reports, the Duchess will be hospitalized for several more days, then will be put on bed rest for an additional period. (I've been asked by readers to give Kate's full married name and title. It's Her Royal Highness Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus.)

The good news is that hyperemesis gravidarum primarily affects women in the first trimester of pregnancy, when morning sickness is typically the worst. In some cases it can last through the 21st week, however, and in very rare cases right up through birth. Also, studies show that morning sickness lessens the chances of miscarriage, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Also, it was noted in British press reports that Kate appeared fine in a public appearance on Friday and was photographed eating a meal, so it seems she has not been suffering the severe symptoms for long. She arrived at the hospital in a car, not an ambulance, another good sign.

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