News that the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton,
is pregnant spurred headlines and excitement around the world on
Monday, but the exuberance was tempered by word that the mother-
to-be has been hospitalized with a rare form of severe morning
sickness. Most people have never heard of the condition, called
hyperemesis gravidarum or H.G., now getting worldwide attention.
To learn more, we spoke with Dr. Marlena Fejzo, an obstetrics
researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr.
Fejzo twice experienced H.G. during her own pregnancies and is
an adviser and board member for the Hyperemesis Education and
Research Foundation. We talked about the risks of H.G., why it
happens and whether its occurrence can predict the sex of the
baby. What is hyperemesis gravidarum? It’s severe, debilitating
nausea and vomiting in pregnancy that generally leads to more
than 5 percent weight loss and requires fluid treatment.
Sometimes, in more extreme cases, it requires nutritional
supplements. Are there tre