How Kate’s plight helped new mums

More are seeking morning sickness treatment

IT forced the Duchess of Cambridge into hospital during her first pregnancy.

But since Kate’s battle with severe morning sickness while expecting Prince George, more Scottish mothers-to-be are seeking help with the debilitating problem.

According to experts, many women with hyperemesis gravidarum in the past suffered in silence, as there was little information about remedies for the condition, which can see victims house-bound for months, vomiting up to 20 times a day.

In addition, they say GPs and midwives have been reluctant to prescribe drugs amid fears that they could harm the baby.

But since the Duchess was hospitalised in December 2012, many more pregnant women have sought help. NHS figures show 100 more Scots women were treated for hyperemesis gravidarum in 2014 than in 2012. Last year, 1,809 pregnant women were hospitalised with the condition, compare to 1,707 in 2012.

The Duchess was also treated for the problem while pregnant with Princess Charlotte.

Charity Pregnancy Sickness Support said it had also witnessed an increase in the numbers seeking help.

Scottish trustee Margaret O’Hara believes the Duchess’s plight encouraged more women to come forward.

She said: ‘I do think that the Duchess being treated for hyperemesis gravidarum has raised public awareness of the condition and the help that is out there. In January 2012 our website was getting 4,000 hits a month, but there was a massive spike in the December of that year, when the Duchess was pregnant with George, and now we get about 25,000 people on the site every month.

‘I think that with the Duchess being treated for it, it made other people realise that there are treatments out there for the condition.’

Mrs O’Hara said that there are a number of treatments, including anti- sickness tablets. However, doctors were reluctant to prescribe these to woman due to the ‘very tiny chance’ that they may harm the baby.

Stressing it is vital for women to seek help, she added: ‘Women do expect to get morning sick- ness when they are pregnant but it is not really spoken about.

‘No one knows what to expect and how sick you can get, and what is normal.

‘Some women can vomit more than 20 times a day – they can’t keep anything down at all. It can be very extreme to the point of death, with women losing a lot of weight.

But while the Duchess had helped raise awareness of severe morning sickness, Mrs O’Hara said some women have been accused of ‘copying’ her.

She explained: ‘We have had a number of women who have been in touch that have tried to get treatment, but they have been told, “You just want to be like the princess” by their doctors.

‘We are glad that there is more awareness but too many women are still not getting the proper treatment they need.’

‘Extreme to the point of death’