Kate’s pregnant again!! I know not everyone is fond of the monarchy but in my opinion another prince or princess on their way is adorable. Genuine delightful Disney opening material. But Kate’s got a fair way to go until the little one makes its royal debut and let’s face it; she hasn’t had the easiest time of it with her last two pregnancies.
Once again the Duchess of Cambridge has been diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which, for those of us who don’t speak Latin, is severe morning sickness and nausea. I need to emphasise here that this isn’t normal morning sickness. That’s like comparing a twisted ankle to a broken leg. This condition affects 1% of pregnant people and commonly affects the sufferer for 15 weeks and causes them to throw up round the clock. It can have serious repercussions for both the mother and the unborn child, neither of which will be receiving enough nutrition and can cause weight loss, dehydration and low blood pressure in the mother. It can lead to deformities in the foetus, and can be deadly for both if extreme cases are left untreated.
I only had your everyday, run of the mill morning sickness with my last pregnancy and that was no barrel of laughs, so my sympathies are very much with Kate at this time. I remember not being able to stomach anything but jacket potatoes and cheese for almost a month. Even then the smallest of things could trigger a vomiting fit. Once I sneezed, which caused me to vomit with such force I got a nose bleed. It was anything but graceful. Oh, and that ‘pregnant glow’ they talk about, yeah, that’s sweat.
Pregnancy has literally 0 respect for social status. You can be the Duchess of Cambridge or a dog groomer from Chelmsford and you’ll still be hit with wave after wave of irritating and potentially dangerous pregnancy related symptoms. Constipation, bloating, swollen hands and feet, gestational diabetes… it really is a magical time. People often get so caught up with the bouncing bundle of joy that arrives at the end that they forget the journey that the mother has to go through first. And let me tell you this, it’s always an uphill journey and it can be a flipping steep one at that.
Yet still, you always get someone saying you ‘You’re not ill, you’re just pregnant’. Now don’t get me wrong, some days during a pregnancy you may feel fine, and in which case there’s no reason you shouldn’t carry on pretty much as usual. But some days you feel like crap. On those days people need to understand that a pregnant person’s body is under tremendous strain. They’re literally growing another person and surprisingly that can really take it out of you. You may not be ill, but you may still need to take it easy, or hell, even take some time off work and cancel some of your engagements. You may need to ask others for help. That’s okay. You don’t need to power through.
So regardless of whether or not you support our monarchy let all try and be supportive of Kate. Hyperemesis Gravidarum is not just morning sickness, it’s not just anything. Her being a Duchess isn’t going to make the next few months any easier for her and at the end of the day, she’s just another mother to be, battling her way through pregnancy.
