‘It’s nearly killed me’: Aussie mum's near-fatal experience with 'severe morning sickness' troubling Kate Middleton
As Kate Middleton battles through her third bout of Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a Melbourne mother has revealed just how punishing the pregnancy illness can be.
Ridiculing the taboo that HG is little more than morning sickness, mother-of-two Samantha McCall told 7 News Online she was in and out of hospital and vomiting 40 times a day for the duration of both her pregnancies.
“A lot of people say to you ‘ohh it can’t be that bad, it’s just bad morning sickness’,” the 30-year-old said.
“It’s not, it is a whole other scale to morning sickness… the dehydration and malnourishment very nearly killed me.
“The nausea, the constant hospital trips, the IV fluids, the migraines… the toll it takes on you, financially, mentally, physically is just too much.
“Women do lose their babies because their bodies are just too ill to sustain pregnancy.”
With the medication not listed in Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the Diamond Creek woman said she felt isolated by the illness because of its relatively unknown status in Australia.
“I felt very alone because I didn’t have any support at all other than my husband and our close immediate family,” she added.
“Ondansetron comes in packets of 10 for $30, I was taking three tablets a day. For someone who was unable to work due to the HG even whilst medicated this was an exorbitant amount of money that I just did not have.”
“When you are pregnant, you don’t have another option, we just did what we had to do to survive.
Only covered by the PBS for those undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, Ms McCall started an online petition so other women didn’t have to endure the same pain she did.
In a move to make sure other women don’t have to endure the same pain she did, Ms McCall started an online petition to have Ondansetron covered under the federal government’s health care program.
“It is just not right, I just want other women out there who are suffering from [HG] to know that they aren’t alone, there are other people out there who are willing to help,” she told 7 News Online.
She has so far received 38,000 signatures and plans on submitting the petition to the Australian Government Department of Health and PBS, with one very clear message.
“No one should not be able to take medication that is required to keep them alive because of the price.”
