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Healthcare professionals

Support is Vital

"The support I received over the past 6 weeks helped get me through what has been the toughest time of my life. Having someone who really who really understood the condition give advice helped us through and crucially, at times, gave me really useful information I didn't get from my own medical practitioners. In my experience, HG is such a debilitating and lonely struggle, the more support you get the better chance you have of surviving it" - Lisa, from London.

HG Facts

Hyperemesis Gravidarum rarely ends at 12 weeks of pregnancy. It typically improves in the middle of pregnancy, but symptoms often last until birth. 

For a general summary of global HG research, please visit the Hyperemesis Research Foundation website.

 

More research is needed to understand the causes, treatments and consequences of HG. We have outlined some of the ongoing research projects in Ireland below:

RCSI Women's Health Research Group

Researchers in RCSI are looking for women with experience of HG for two related pieces of research. Details on both, and how you can participate, are below. 

1) Patient and Public Involvement: lived experience of HG

At RCSI, we have formed a Women’s Health Research Group to promote and advance research dedicated to women's health in Ireland. Due to the significant burden of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) on maternal physical and mental health, and the lack of research conducted in this area, we have identified HG as a research priority. We would like to discuss our plans for research in HG with women who have experienced the condition. We will hold an online meeting (approximately 60 minutes), where we would like to hear your views on our research plans and on research that you think is needed in this area. To compensate for your time, you will receive a €30 one4all voucher. 

How to get involved? 

Contact research lead: Dr Angela Flynn at angelaflynn@rcsi.ie

2) Mental Health & HG

This research will explore the experiences of women with a history of HG, particularly their recovery after pregnancy, and how they plan and prepare for future pregnancies. It will also find out what resources’ women think are needed to help mitigate the effects of a HG pregnancy. The findings from this research will inform the development of resources aimed at enhancing pre- and post-pregnancy support for HG-affected women in Ireland.

Who are we looking for?

    • Women over 18 years old who have experienced HG
    • Women who had at least one HG pregnancy in the past five years OR women who experienced HG during the past five years and had one or more subsequent pregnancies.
    • Women who lived in the Republic of Ireland during their HG pregnancy.

Why participate?

Your participation will add to our knowledge about pre- and post-pregnancy lived experiences of severe pregnancy sickness. Findings from the research will be used to develop resources to better support women before and after a HG pregnancy in Ireland. In appreciation of your participation, you will receive a €30 one4all voucher.

How to get involved? 

Contact research lead: Zeinab El-Dirani at zeinabeldirani23@rcsi.ie  

Research supervisor: Dr Angela Flynn at angelaflynn@rcsi.ie 

 

IRIS Clinic Evaluation

A multidisciplinary HG day-case service (IRIS Clinic) was launched in 2020  at The National Maternity Hospital, Dublin. The clinic provides routine, day-case care in a comfortable space with pre-booked appointments. The multidisciplinary involves midwives, dietitians, perinatal mental health, obstetrics and pharmacy, and the nature of the clinic enables peer-to-peer support. As this clinic is the first of its kind in Ireland, the researchers aim to assess its effectiveness and feasibility, and suggest recommendations for improvement.

Principle investigator: Dr Eileen O’Brien, School of Biological, Health and Sports Science, Technological University Dublin (eileen.obrien@tudublin.ie) Dr O'Brien is also a Trustee

Research midwife: Jean Doherty, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin (jean.doherty@nmh.ie)

Links to publications: 

The IRIS clinic: A Protocol for a mixed-methods study evaluating the management of Hyperemesis Gravidarum: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451865423001734

Women's experiences of Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) and of attending a dedicated multi-disciplinary hydration clinic: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1871519223000999?via%3Dihub

 

EMPOWER-HG

Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) can lead to malnutrition and other complications for the woman and fetus. There is limited information about the nutritional needs of women with HG and access to nutrition support varies. Individual consultations with a dietitian are helpful, but there is increasing demand for these services and resources are limited. Antenatal group education has been shown to improve nutritional knowledge among pregnant women, but it has not been studied in women with HG. The use of a self-completed nutrition checklist could help women to understand their own dietary intakes, which may reduce the need for intensive dietetic intervention.

The aims of this study are to describe the nutritional intakes of women with HG who attend an intensive HG intervention (IRIS clinic). Nutritional intakes will be compared before and after the intervention. The study will also determine which type of clinical dietetic support is most beneficial for women.

Principle investigators: 

Dr Eileen O’Brien, School of Biological, Health and Sports Science, Technological University Dublin (eileen.obrien@tudublin.ie)

Dr Sarah Louise Killeen, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin (sarahlouise.killeen@nmh.ie)

 

 

Research collaborations

If you are a researcher and would like to collaborate with Hyperemesis Ireland, please contact news[at]hyperemesis.ie

 

Funding for HG research

We do not have a funding stream for research at present, however The Bikkja Trust is a UK charity that funds research into HG. More information available here: https://www.bikkjatrust.org/