The baby was born, but the morning sickness was still here

As told to Rachael Lavon

It’s hard to pinpoint when my stomach issues started. We were newly married, living in Eretz Yisrael and enjoying every second of it. Though we missed our families in the States, my husband and I shared a dream of building our home in Eretz Yisrael.

When I found out I was expecting, we were over the moon. My older sister and mother both suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum (excessive nausea and vomiting) while pregnant, so I was expecting nausea from the get-go. Sure enough, the symptoms began right away. I never knew when I’d feel sick; the terrible nausea would come and go throughout the day, but I assumed it was all part of the pregnancy package.

“After the first trimester you’re going to feel a million times better,” friends and family members reassured me. As the weeks passed, I waited anxiously for the relief that everyone promised was imminent, but the nausea and vomiting persisted. I became slightly more functional toward my due date, but unlike my mother and sister, I suffered from debilitating nausea all the way until the end.

“You’ll see,” said my labor coach. “An hour or two after birth, you’ll feel like a new person.” I couldn’t wait. At last our princess arrived, right before Pesach, and we dived right into parenthood, overjoyed with our little bundle. The only thing shadowing the simchah was the nausea, indigestion, and random bouts of vomiting that still hadn’t gone away.

At first I chalked it up to residual pregnancy side effects. When I mentioned it to my doctor, he brushed it off as a little stomach virus, claiming it would pass and it was nothing to be too concerned about. I was young, living in a country where I had limited knowledge of the language and system, and on a very basic health insurance plan. I think a part of me wanted to believe it was just a virus, and it was would just go away on its own if I gave it some time.

Some days were worse than others. Often I just had some indigestion and popped a Tums or Zantac, which helped relieve the discomfort. Other times I’d eat a normal meal at dinner and wake up in the middle of the night throwing up uncontrollably — but then feel perfectly fine in the morning.

Every friend and family member I spoke to had a different theory, ranging from “it’s just hormones” to “stop eating dairy” to “you probably need your gall bladder removed.” I wasn’t sure how to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist, and I was so busy with my newborn and adjusting to motherhood that I kept brushing off the awful symptoms.

One Motzaei Shabbos, we had a Melaveh Malkah at home, and I went to bed, desperate for some sleep after a busy Shabbos. A couple of hours later, I woke up in horrible pain, and proceeded to throw up for the rest of the night.

“You need to go back to the doctor,” my husband said firmly. “This is definitely not a virus.”