Cornish mum's awareness call for severe pregnancy sickness

Heather Knight said having hyperemesis gravidarum ruined her pregnancy experience

A woman from Cornwall who was sick up to 100 times a day during her pregnancy wants others to know help is out there.

Heather Knight was frequently hospitalised and needed injections to prevent possible brain damage because of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).

The NHS describes HG as excessive nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.

Ms Knight, 37, from Liskeard, said the death of another expectant mother after suffering from HG has highlighted the need to raise awareness.

The charity Pregnancy Sickness Support said it affects up to 30,000 pregnancies a year in the UK, but it is still considered a rare condition because it is not talked about.

'No magic drug'

Four weeks in to Ms Knight's pregnancy, she became very unwell, with "relentless" sickness, causing her to lose three stone (19kg) in three months.

"The force of it detached the retinas in both my eyes, and my oesophagus started bleeding into my stomach, so I was bringing up blood," she said.

"I went straight to hospital and I thought there'd be a magic drug that would fix everything.

"But unfortunately, that's not what happened."

Her condition lasted throughout her pregnancy, leading to her leaving her job, being fed through a tube and having her gall bladder removed because of the damage to her digestive tract.

Ms Knight said a consultant who treated her at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth told her she had one of the worst cases of HG they had ever seen.

She said the condition robbed her of the joy around impending motherhood.

At 36 weeks, she was induced because of rising blood pressure, and her son Declan was born a healthy baby.

"The birth was the easiest part - he just popped out," she said.

Jessica Cronshaw took her own life after suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum during pregnancy

The condition can affect the mental health of expectant mothers, and Ms Knight wants to raise awareness of this.

Jessica Cronshaw, 26, from Lancashire was 28 weeks pregnant and suffering from severe HG when she took her own life in 2022.

At the inquest into Ms Cronshaw's death in January, assistant coroner Kate Bisset concluded that "the absence of comprehensive care for Jessica's severe pregnancy sickness was a contributing factor to her mental health deterioration".

The charity Pregnancy Sickness Support advocated for Ms Cronshaw's family at the inquest.

Its chief executive Charlotte Howden said the tragic case highlights significant gaps in care for women with HG.

"It shouldn't take the death of a young woman and her baby to get us to the point where we're having these conversations," Ms Howden said.

Heather Knight's son Declan was born healthily and is now 11

Ms Knight believes she was fortunate to live where she does as her care at Derriford was exceptional and she credits the team with her happy outcome.

Her son is now 11 and she has since volunteered for Pregnancy Sickness Support to show other women help is out there.

Following her challenges with HG, a consultant advised her against having any more children.

She said: "There is the little pang of sadness sometimes that I can't do it again.

"But it was completely debilitating and life-changing.

"You don't go through something like that and come out the same afterwards."