Severe Morning Sickness, Also Known As – Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Sickness in pregnancy, also referred to as ‘morning sickness’, is a common symptom many women can experience in the early stages of their pregnancy. Pregnancy sickness does not just occur in the morning but can come on at any point of the day, causing the individual to feel nauseous or physically vomit. In most cases the sickness will ease off between weeks 12 to 20 of the pregnancy.

However, there is a small percentage of women (between 1% and 3% according to the NHS) who unfortunately suffer with severe morning sickness during their pregnancy. This condition is known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG).

Symptoms of Hyperemesis Gravidarum

HG is a severe form of pregnancy sickness and unlike normal pregnancy sickness, it does not ease off, instead sometimes lasting for the entirety of a woman’s pregnancy.

Symptoms of HG include:

• Prolonged and severe nausea and vomiting.
• Dehydration – symptoms include feeling thirsty, tired, dizzy, or lightheaded.
• Weight loss

Those who suffer with HG may be prescribed anti-sickness medicines or steroids by their GP or Midwife, to help ease the symptoms of HG. However, its worth noting that some women can be hospitalised due to HG if their symptoms cannot be controlled.

Supporting your employee who has been diagnosed with HG

Having HG can affect a person both physically and emotionally, therefore, if you have a pregnant employee who has been diagnosed with HG, it’s important to consider what measures you can put in place to support them. This may include:

• Allowing them to have extra rest breaks.
• Having a personal care kit available for the employee to use in the setting, which consists of a toothbrush and toothpaste.
• Temporarily amending their working pattern/hours.
• Conducting regular welfare meetings to discuss their condition and how they are doing.
• Utilising your Employee Assistance Program.
• Sign posting them to external support such as www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

Pregnancy Related Absence

Having HG may result in an employee taking more time off work than normal due to the impacts of their symptoms. HG is deemed a pregnancy related illness and is therefore ‘protected’ under The Equality Act 2010. This means that the employee cannot be penalised for any absences caused by the HG (or any other pregnancy-related illnesses), and you should discount these absences when reviewing attendance records for the purpose of your Bradford Factor. 

If you do have an employee who has high levels of absence due to a pregnancy related illness, there are other ways you can provide support to the employee, this can include:

• Holding virtual welfare meetings with the employee whilst they are absent to establish how they are doing and what reasonable adjustments can be made to support them at work.
• Offer them the option of doing a phased return to ease them back into work.
• Agree for them to commence maternity leave earlier than originally planned. 

An employee can commence maternity leave as early as the 11^th week before the expected due date. If your employee is finding it difficult at work during their pregnancy, then it may be worth discussing with them the option of commencing their maternity leave earlier than they may have originally planned.

If your employee does not wish to commence their maternity leave early but their absence persists due to pregnancy related illness, then it may result in their maternity leave being automatically triggered if their absence continues into week 36 of their pregnancy. If this is the case, then you would want to confirm in writing to your employee that their maternity leave has automatically triggered due to pregnancy related absence.

If you need further advice on supporting a pregnant employee, please contact us to request a copy of our ‘Employee’s Guide to Maternity & Pregnancy’ – Free to our retained clients! Alternatively call us on 01527 909 436 to speak with one of our HR Advisors.

Likewise for any further sickness related issues, we have lots of articles on our Knowledge Centre. Just click the link and search for ‘sickness’.