Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Signs and Symptoms
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is debilitating. It's not "just morning sickness." Uncontrolled vomiting can lead to weight loss, severe electrolyte imbalance, vitamin depletion, heart rhythm disturbances, kidney injury and more.
Dr. Housholder is the world’s leading physician focusing on hyperemesis gravidarum. He works in tandem with your pregnancy health care provider to get you the care you need to keep you and baby healthy.
At The Morning Sickness Clinic, we specialize in treating hyperemesis gravidarum in pregnancy using OBGYN approved protocols developed by the HER Foundation. Dr. Housholder is an active researcher collaborating with Dr. Marlena Fejzo to study HG!
The good news? Early treatment can prevent nausea and vomiting from worsening. Make an appointment today to see our physician.
Symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG): unrelenting nausea and vomiting, weight loss and severe dehydration during pregnancy.
Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy ranges from mild to debilitating. With HG, the patient has persistent nausea and vomiting with little relief, and is often losing weight instead of gaining weight during pregnancy. HG has a genetic component to it also, and unfortunately those who had HG with one pregnancy will often have it again. There are a few different ways to diagnose HG and a few approaches to treatment. We follow recommendations from the HER Foundation. You should talk to our physician at the Morning Sickness Clinic if you are concerned you have HG. You can book an appointment.
Take our HELP Score calculator to determine whether you may have HG, and seek help sooner rather than later. Many studies show that starting treatment for nausea as early as possible can prevent symptoms of HG from progressing.
“Some pregnant people worry about the effects of treatment on their babies, so they wait until they are very dehydrated to seek help. We tailor our treatment plans to our patients’ concerns, because if you don’t get your questions answered, you’re not going to feel better. And that’s what we want. We want you to feel better.”
- Dr. Andrew Housholder, MD FACEP
What to expect at The Morning Sickness Clinic, for Alabama & Georgia Patients
Live outside of Alabama and Georgia? Choose your location here.
1 - Get ahead of your nausea symptoms and book your appointment online.
Online booking and filling out intake forms via your phone allows us to expedite your first appointment. If you are visiting our Birmingham, Alabama clinic, our services are most likely covered under insurance! If you are in Georgia, visit our Georgia patient page to learn more.
2 - Doctor evaluation and developing a treatment plan
At your first appointment, Dr. Housholder will discuss your symptoms and what your goals are for treatment. He will help you decide what treatments are best for you and whether you should have labs drawn. Your at-home nausea medications will be the most important part of your treatment and you may require frequent medication adjustments to control your symptoms.
3 — The Treatment Itself
If you are visiting our Alabama clinic, our nurse will establish an IV, and you will then be taken to a quiet, comfortable, spa-like room. We provide blankets and heating pads. Expect your appointment to take about two hours to receive a full treatment. We have WiFi and a playroom! If you are in Georgia, we will facilitate getting you local infusions.
4 — Labs & Diagnostics
If you need labs performed due to excessive vomiting or dehydration, we will draw blood and run these labs in our Alabama clinic. For Georgia patients, we will order labs.
5 — Easy Communication
Our clinic is always a text away. Patients can communicate with Dr. H and our nurses through our HIPPA compliant texting platform. Get your questions answered quickly and easily.
6 — Continuing care
If your symptoms change or increase in let us know in Spruce right away! We’ll get you in as soon as we can and adjust medications as needed.
The Morning Sickness Clinic
Dr. Housholder recognized the lack of availability of treatment options for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and he decided to do something about it.
While working in the ER here in Birmingham, Dr. Housholder quickly saw a problem with the availability of treatment options for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Those suffering could make an expensive trip to the ER, experience repeat hospitalizations or continue to be miserable at home.
Dr. Housholder founded The HG & Morning Sickness Clinic on the idea that pregnant patients should have access to safe, physician-guided treatment with intravenous fluids for moderate to severe morning sickness.
Dr. Housholder is the world’s leading physician treating extreme nausea and vomiting in pregnancy or Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). Dr. Housholder collaborates with Dr. Marlena Fejzo, one of TIME’s Women of the Year and the leading researcher on HG. Dr. Housholder follows the most up-to-date research on HG treatments using ACOG and HER Foundation protocols.
The HG & Morning Sickness Clinic focuses on one thing: safe, convenient care for pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting.