Mum-to-be suffers extreme morning sickness – causing her to vomit 20 TIMES a day
Hannah Dalton lived on water and antenatal vitamins during the third month of her pregnancy
A PREGNANT mum suffered such extreme morning sickness she vomited 20 times a day - was left unable to eat for a MONTH.
Hannah Dalton, 27, lived on half a cup of water a day and antenatal vitamins during the entire third month of her pregnancy.
The Essex mum-of-one suffered from pregnancy complication hyperemesis gravidarum – an extreme type of morning sickness which causes severe nausea.
The condition - which affects around 3 per cent of women - hit headlines after it was revealed the Duchess of Cambridge also suffered from it while pregnant with Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
And Hannah, whose weight plummeted by 3st 2lbs as a result of the condition, became so weak and dehydrated she needed a wheelchair - while husband Mikey, 28, was forced to carry her to the bathroom to be sick.
Hannah, who works in finance, said: "I experienced morning sickness for the first time at about five and a half weeks and I was actually pretty excited – it's almost like it proves you're pregnant.
"But over the next couple of weeks it got progressively worse and I was being sick multiple times a day – and soon it was up to 20 times a day.
"I felt extremely nauseous all day. I couldn't even escape it when I was sleeping. At night I would dream about being sick.
"The only thing I can liken it to is having a permanent hangover. If I tried to move the whole world would spin, I felt really disorientated and couldn't hold a thought in my head."
Incredibly, despite doctors' concerns, baby Beth, now one, continued to grow against the odds.
But Hannah does not think she or Beth would have survived if she had not put on weight before getting pregnant and forced down her daily dose of vitamins.
After three and a half months of hell, Hannah's nausea slightly subsided and she was able to keep down one dry cracker a day – and at five months, she managed half a sandwich.
And the day the vegetarian mum went into labour she had a craving for a beef burger and managed to demolish the whole thing and keep it down.
And although Hannah was too weak to give birth naturally as she planned, she gave birth via caesarean to healthy baby girl Beth on April 27 last year.
Hannah said: "It was a terrifying time for me and Mikey but at least we had the reassurance that the baby was growing and healthy. She met all the milestones.
"As soon as I'd given birth I was starving. At 1am the nurses brought me a cup of tea and marmite on toast and it was the best meal I have ever had.
"The simplest things were so satisfying after not eating properly for nine months."
Hannah's experience left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, meaning certain locations, sounds and smells trigger her nausea.
What is hyperemesis gravidarum?
- It causes excessive nausea and vomiting
- It sometimes needs hospital treatment
- It affects around 1 in 100 pregnant women
- Other symptoms are dehydration and low blood pressure
But the proud new mum has not been put off having another baby as she said she would be more prepared next time and have the invaluable support of her husband.
And as well as blogging about her experiences, Hannah is also taking up volunteering with the charity Pregnancy Sickness Support.
Hannah said: "As soon as Beth isn't so dependent and she is old enough to understand that mum's not well then we will definitely have another baby.
"I know next time I will be so much more prepared. I've done my research and I know what HG is now and I know to put on weight before I get pregnant.
She added: "And I've got Mikey. This experience completely broke down any barriers we had. He has had to hold me and clean me up after being sick and help me shower.
"It was horrible and embarrassing at the time but it has made us so much stronger than we already were. He was amazing."