A mum has revealed she lost nearly half her body weight while she was pregnant
Michelle Stevens, 33, went down six dress sizes and lost 7st 10lb during her pregnancy with son Ollie.
This was because extreme morning sickness made her throw up more than 50 times a day.
Michelle suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, which is the same brutal pregnancy sickness experienced by the Duchess of Cambridge.
This caused her constant nausea from just four weeks. It was so terrible, she even considered terminating the much-wanted pregnancy.
Michelle said could barely eat or drink for nine months, and was hospitalised countless times as she dropped from 17st 3lb to 9st 7lb – all while pregnant.
Doctors told her it was the worst case of the condition they’d ever seen.
However, she said it was all worth it for adorable son Ollie.
The mum-of-three from Saltdean, Brighton, said: “Sickness was the first indication I was pregnant, at just four weeks – but it just got worse and worse and I would be sick more than 50 times a day.
“I was in and out of hospital constantly being hooked up to IV drips and feeding tubes because I was so malnourished and dehydrated.
“The nausea was so bad that I contemplated terminating the pregnancy at points, and I hardly noticed the weight coming off because I was so ill.
“I was over the moon to finally have Ollie and we adore him – although my pregnancy was absolutely horrific and I’d have given anything to be able to eat normally, even if it meant staying large.
“I still have stomach problems now – I had wanted to lose a bit of weight before I got pregnant but this was certainly not what I had in mind.”
Michelle, who is also mum to Joshua, 11, and Sarah, 13, ended up in A&E at five weeks pregnant – just a week after her positive test – due constant nausea and vomiting.
As she was unable to eat or drink, doctors at Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, grew concerned at how weak and dehydrated she was becoming.
The healthcare assistant experienced non-stop nausea and was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), and prescribed a range of medication.
However they barely works and she spent weeks at a time in hospital on IV fluids to keep her hydrated, with a feeding tube up her nose.
With her worryingly weak, she had a tube delivering nutrients directly into her veins, and had to have two IV bags of fluid a day.
She went from a size 22 in clothing, down to a size 10.
Michelle said “The sickness went on for the whole pregnancy and it just seemed to get worse and worse.
“The doctors told me it was one of the worst cases of HG they’d ever seen. I was in and out of hospital constantly and I was crying literally every day.
“It was a very dark time for me.”
She did consider a termination, but carried on due to guilt, and for the sake of her IT consultant husband Gavin, 39, and the kids.
Ollie was finally born by caesarean section on June 4 2020.
He was rushed to NICU with a collapsed lung as a result of the traumatic pregnancy and she went to ICU for monitoring and further treatment.
However, luckily both mum and baby were able to come home ten days later.
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Michelle has been now left with an undiagnosed stomach condition which means she can’t gain weight and eating is painful.
She added: “I have a dietician who is looking for answers, but even now I’ve had Ollie it’s incredibly painful to eat.
“I wanted to lose weight before I was pregnant, but now I’m actually smaller than I ever wanted to be.”
Despite going through a “pregnancy from hell”, she said the main thing is Ollie is happy and healthy.
She said: “I had HG with my earlier pregnancies but I never realised how severe it could get – this was like nothing I’ve experienced before.
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