In the Cocoon of Challenge

When the bombshell of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), extreme nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, hit me when I was expecting my first child, I didn’t know what was happening to me. I’d never been sick before in my life, and I struggled on every level.

Many people today are familiar with HG. They’ve read about it as some sort of horror condition; maybe they know someone who has it. Going back 20 years, that awareness and knowledge wasn’t there.

When I first experienced the condition, I tried fighting the overwhelming, unrelenting nausea tooth and nail. I couldn’t keep down any food, I got dehydrated and needed hospitalization. That’s the CliffsNotes.

At 27, after two more HG pregnancies, I was done. I couldn’t go through that again. Rabbanim agreed, and I was okay with it. The thought occurred to me though: if I could have a different, more positive experience with the condition, would I do it again? The answer was a resounding yes! I felt I had an achrayus to learn everything I could to see if it was possible to experience the condition more positively.