Pregnancy Sickness Support

Lauren's Fundraiser - Help Me Support Women Suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Lauren Stenhouse

Lauren Stenhouse

My Story

I will be taking part in the Edinburgh Kiltwalk’s Mighty Stride on the 14th of September. This is a 20 mile route through the city, which will take around six hours to complete, starting off in Holyrood Park and ending at Murrayfield Stadium.

I’m fundraising for Pregnancy Sickness Support, the UK’s only registered charity dedicated to helping women suffering with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a severe and debilitating form of pregnancy sickness. As someone who has suffered with HG, I now help support others while they navigate their own journey with the condition, as a Peer Supporter through the charity, but I'd love to raise some funds to help support them further.

HG is not just morning sickness. It is a misunderstood and under-recognised condition that leaves sufferers fighting not only for care but often for their lives. Many healthcare professionals have little or no training in HG, and as a result, too many women are left to advocate for themselves while being critically unwell.

I know this all too well. Having had three HG pregnancies, and losing all three to this devastating condition.

During my pregnancies I was bedbound, vomiting over 50 times a day, and completely unable to eat or drink. Oral medications wouldn’t stay down, and I was repeatedly hospitalised, often for weeks at a time. I was given five intramuscular injections every day just to try to manage the relentless nausea. These injections left me black and blue with bruises, and often in so much pain that I couldn’t sit down without crying. I was also on the maximum dose of IV steroids, just to keep me stable. Every time I was discharged and sent home with oral medication, I would rapidly deteriorate, and within 24 hours I was usually back in hospital, severely dehydrated, too weak to stand, and uncontrollably vomiting.

This condition didn’t just affect me, it also devastated my partner, Kieran. He watched helplessly as I suffered, often having to carry me to the car, help me shower, he would wash and dry my hair, and do basic things I couldn’t manage alone. We were terrified. We genuinely both thought I was going to die.

To make things harder, he couldn’t always be there. His job meant he was often away and unable to take time off, no matter how desperate the situation was at home. The day after my last pregnancy ended, he had to travel overseas for six weeks, leaving me physically broken, emotionally shattered, and utterly alone. It was one of the darkest periods of my life.

But during that time, I was given a lifeline. I was matched with a peer supporter through Pregnancy Sickness Support , someone who had been through HG herself. I could text her whenever I needed, and she truly understood what I was going through. After my pregnancy ended, the charity provided me with counselling sessions, which I hand on heart believe saved my life. At a time when I felt completely isolated, suicidal, and heartbroken, those sessions gave me hope and a path forward. My counsellor was so patient with me, she let me sit in silence, she let me cry, she just let me be what I needed to be in that moment, and after eight weeks I began to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

These sessions cost the charity £400 — and I’m hoping to raise this, as a minimum.
To give back.
To say thank you.
To help another woman like me get the same life-saving support.

Because I’ve had HG before, I have an 89% chance of developing it again in future pregnancies. As much as the thought of going through it again terrifies us both, we still hope to try again one day, and I know that when that time comes, I will need the support of this amazing charity again. In fact, they’ve already helped me start preparing. After my last pregnancy ended, Pregnancy Sickness Support contacted my hospital directly, and as a result, a dedicated HG care pathway is now being put in place for future patients. They’ve also arranged for me to receive pre-pregnancy counselling through the hospital, so that when we are ready to try again, we will be supported from the very beginning. That kind of advocacy and forward-planning is something I never imagined would be possible, and it's entirely thanks to this charity.

Your donation doesn’t just help others; it will also help me when I face this again.

Please, if you can, donate. Every pound will go towards providing emotional and practical support to someone suffering with this devastating condition.

Let’s raise awareness. Let’s break the stigma.
Let’s help more women survive HG.

With heartfelt thanks,

Lauren x

108%

Funded

  • Target
    £1,180
  • Raised so far
    £1,278
  • Number of donors
    67

My Story

I will be taking part in the Edinburgh Kiltwalk’s Mighty Stride on the 14th of September. This is a 20 mile route through the city, which will take around six hours to complete, starting off in Holyrood Park and ending at Murrayfield Stadium.

I’m fundraising for Pregnancy Sickness Support, the UK’s only registered charity dedicated to helping women suffering with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a severe and debilitating form of pregnancy sickness. As someone who has suffered with HG, I now help support others while they navigate their own journey with the condition, as a Peer Supporter through the charity, but I'd love to raise some funds to help support them further.

HG is not just morning sickness. It is a misunderstood and under-recognised condition that leaves sufferers fighting not only for care but often for their lives. Many healthcare professionals have little or no training in HG, and as a result, too many women are left to advocate for themselves while being critically unwell.

I know this all too well. Having had three HG pregnancies, and losing all three to this devastating condition.

During my pregnancies I was bedbound, vomiting over 50 times a day, and completely unable to eat or drink. Oral medications wouldn’t stay down, and I was repeatedly hospitalised, often for weeks at a time. I was given five intramuscular injections every day just to try to manage the relentless nausea. These injections left me black and blue with bruises, and often in so much pain that I couldn’t sit down without crying. I was also on the maximum dose of IV steroids, just to keep me stable. Every time I was discharged and sent home with oral medication, I would rapidly deteriorate, and within 24 hours I was usually back in hospital, severely dehydrated, too weak to stand, and uncontrollably vomiting.

This condition didn’t just affect me, it also devastated my partner, Kieran. He watched helplessly as I suffered, often having to carry me to the car, help me shower, he would wash and dry my hair, and do basic things I couldn’t manage alone. We were terrified. We genuinely both thought I was going to die.

To make things harder, he couldn’t always be there. His job meant he was often away and unable to take time off, no matter how desperate the situation was at home. The day after my last pregnancy ended, he had to travel overseas for six weeks, leaving me physically broken, emotionally shattered, and utterly alone. It was one of the darkest periods of my life.

But during that time, I was given a lifeline. I was matched with a peer supporter through Pregnancy Sickness Support , someone who had been through HG herself. I could text her whenever I needed, and she truly understood what I was going through. After my pregnancy ended, the charity provided me with counselling sessions, which I hand on heart believe saved my life. At a time when I felt completely isolated, suicidal, and heartbroken, those sessions gave me hope and a path forward. My counsellor was so patient with me, she let me sit in silence, she let me cry, she just let me be what I needed to be in that moment, and after eight weeks I began to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

These sessions cost the charity £400 — and I’m hoping to raise this, as a minimum.
To give back.
To say thank you.
To help another woman like me get the same life-saving support.

Because I’ve had HG before, I have an 89% chance of developing it again in future pregnancies. As much as the thought of going through it again terrifies us both, we still hope to try again one day, and I know that when that time comes, I will need the support of this amazing charity again. In fact, they’ve already helped me start preparing. After my last pregnancy ended, Pregnancy Sickness Support contacted my hospital directly, and as a result, a dedicated HG care pathway is now being put in place for future patients. They’ve also arranged for me to receive pre-pregnancy counselling through the hospital, so that when we are ready to try again, we will be supported from the very beginning. That kind of advocacy and forward-planning is something I never imagined would be possible, and it's entirely thanks to this charity.

Your donation doesn’t just help others; it will also help me when I face this again.

Please, if you can, donate. Every pound will go towards providing emotional and practical support to someone suffering with this devastating condition.

Let’s raise awareness. Let’s break the stigma.
Let’s help more women survive HG.

With heartfelt thanks,

Lauren x