History of HG

[Brenda in Canada]

I was looking online - interested because of people's attitudes about HG - that it's not that bad and we need to tough it out, etc. I wondered - has HG not been around before? It must have been!

I found that before IV fluids were available, death of women with HG was about 25%! Here is a link to a page with more stats:

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1075.htm


It says: Mortality/Morbidity: HEG was a significant cause of maternal death before 1940. Mortality from HEG in Great Britain decreased from 159 deaths per million births from 1931-1940 to 3 deaths per million births from 1951-1960. (due to treament)


But today I read, in that same link, that Charlottle Bronte died of HG and sure enough I found this link:

http://acacia.pair.com/Acacia.Vignettes ... ibute.html

If you scroll down to the bottom you'll find it there.

I hope it doesn't make anyone feel worse to read all this - it actually made me feel more validated - that this can be serious business and that fortunately we do live in a time with treatment - and that treatment IS necessary.

[teddi]

A few months ago a woman posted about her friend who lost her baby and her own life to HG. And I am pretty sure she was from the U.S. She didn't seek treatment until she had severe and irresversible organ damage.

About a year ago, while contemplating getting pregnant again and of course fearing HG again, the thought popped into my head- I am so fortunate that I was born in this day and age. Had I been born 100 years ago...maybe even 75 or so...my HG was so severe that I probably would have been one of those fatalities. That thought is scary- but I've used it to remind myself that *I* will educate myself about this disease. *I* will be the one to manage it and understand it and will USE my doctors and modern day medicine as tools. It's made a big impact on getting through this pregnancy a little better. It's still hell and I still am sick and I still hate it, but I am not the skin and bones I was the last time around. *I* have to keep me and my babies well. Me. I'm the mom, and it's my first duty I can do for my babies.

Thanks for posting those stats. I'm going to print them out for my family.