Seeking a Cause
Diane indicated that hormone levels might be the cause
of her misery. “I don’t think it was in my head. I really
don’t. Some of us just stay sick,” she stated. Beth
acknowledged that she “stayed pretty stressed out and
anxious,” and Gail said that she was worried about
becoming a parent. Both women believed that stress
might have contributed to having HG. Both Alice and
Carol read lots of material in search of a reason for their
nausea and vomiting. Carol stated that she wasn’t sick
with her other children, because she was working at that
time. “I think I had less time to concentrate on how sick
I felt, and this time I was completely at home.” Ultimately,
all of the women compared themselves to friends and
family members who didn’t experience HG with pregnancy
and in some instances blamed themselves for their
dilemma. Fran stated, “Nobody that I know of has had
this until me . . . I even asked the doctor if this was nerve
related . . . if it’s in my head I want to see a psychiatrist.”