Hope For A Debilitating Condition And Its Tragic Consequences

Some women suffer debilitating physical symptoms during pregnancy.

It is not uncommon, and these symptoms can be so severe that these women honestly do not know how they will make it through.

Now, there may be hope on the horizon for an unbearable condition that has led to tragedy for many pregnant women.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) is the most severe form of morning sickness that pregnant women can suffer.

It causes severe nausea and vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, and in the worst cases, can lead to organ damage or miscarriage.

In fact, the condition is so debilitating that studies have found that 15 percent of women in the U.S. with the most severe form of the illness actually choose to terminate their pregnancies.

And in the U.K., the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (who provides abortions) estimates that 1,000 abortions a year are performed because women cannot function due to symptoms of HG.

This tragic loss of unborn life is hard to fathom, but moms who suffer the condition have been given few options for treatment – until now.

In a surprise announcement from the typically anti-life government of the U.K., a clinical trial of a new anti-nausea drug has led to it being licensed for use on pregnant women in Britain.

Xoneva was found to significantly reduce the severity of symptoms by two-thirds.  Some women who vomited up to 50 times per day can expect to significantly reduce episodes of sickness so they can stay healthy and hydrated for their baby.

Women in the government-run socialized medical system of the U.K. have reported for years that physicians gave them few options to control illness.

The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Children (SPUC) has fought for change in the U.K.

They report that women have been told by doctors to “just deal with it” as a “normal” part of pregnancy or that it was “all in their head.”

One woman even told SPUC staff that her physician threatened to report her to the U.K.’s social services because she said she could not physically take care of her other children due to the severity of her condition.

An SPUC researcher told The Telegraph that she knows first-hand the severity of HG and what “one of the most distressing and misunderstood complications of pregnancy” can do to women who feel they have no support from physicians.

Fiorella Nash, who suffered with HG in four pregnancies, even wrote a book about the tragedy of abortions attributed to the condition called Abolition of Women.

“When women end up having abortions because of HG, it’s because they’re in such a state of despair that they literally can’t see any other way out.

What kind of choice is that? Women who are that sick are incredibly vulnerable, and it’s ludicrous that they are left with no support. What’s really tragic is that these are often very much wanted babies, and inadequate care drives women to do something they never usually would.”

Nash states that physicians’ attitude about this serious health issue need to change – all over the world.

Women need to be taken seriously about this serious complication of pregnancy for their own health and that of their baby’s.

Although the decision to take medication during pregnancy should not be made lightly, Nash says Xoneva is a “welcome breakthrough” that will save lives.

Even the British Pregnancy Advisory Service recognizes the potential benefits of Xoneva.

 “We know that many women are simply told to put up with debilitating symptoms on the basis that no medication is safe in pregnancy, when in fact the risks of not treating may be significantly higher. Our hope is that a licensed product will give doctors confidence to prescribe for women who need it,” according to the SPUC website.

It is with a great sense of hope that the lives of unborn children can be saved by alleviating the unbearable effects of this condition.

As the U.K. begins to analyze the results of prescribing this drug to pregnant women, the hope is that is truly is a breakthrough to end their suffering – and that of women all over the world who are desperate for a chance at health for themselves and their unborn child.

What do you think of the tragic number of abortions due to hyperemesis gravidarum and the promise this new medication seems to hold for pregnant women with the condition?

Leave us your thoughts.