Quick answer
You should seek urgent medical advice if:
- you cannot keep fluids down,
- are passing very dark urine,
- have not passed urine for eight hours,
- feel dizzy or faint.
Contact your midwife, GP, NHS 111 or your hospital's maternity assessment unit for advice on where to go. If you feel seriously unwell, don't wait for symptoms to get worse before seeking help.
When should I go to hospital with Pregnancy Sickness?
If you're struggling with Pregnancy Sickness, it can be difficult to know when you've reached the point where you need medical help.
Perhaps you've been vomiting repeatedly, you're barely managing to eat, or even drinking water feels impossible. You might be wondering whether you're ill enough to go to hospital, or whether you should try to manage at home for a little longer.
It's important to know that you don't have to reach a particular number of vomiting episodes before asking for help. How you're feeling overall, whether you can keep fluids and medication down, and how much your symptoms are affecting your everyday life all matter.
Pregnancy Sickness can sometimes become severe enough to cause dehydration, weight loss and problems with your body's electrolyte balance. The most severe form is called Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), and it can require hospital treatment.
If you're worried about your symptoms, it's always worth getting medical advice rather than waiting until you're feeling even worse.
Signs that you need urgent medical advice
Contact your GP, midwife, NHS 111 or your hospital's maternity assessment unit urgently if you:
-
Cannot keep food or fluids down.
-
Have very dark urine or have not passed urine for more than eight hours.
-
Are passing much less urine than usual.
-
Feel dizzy, faint or very weak, particularly when standing up.
-
Feel unusually drowsy or increasingly unwell.
-
Are losing weight because you're struggling to eat and drink.
-
Cannot keep your prescribed medication down.
-
Are vomiting frequently and your symptoms are getting worse.
Many of these can be signs that you are becoming dehydrated or that your Pregnancy Sickness needs more intensive treatment.
Seek urgent medical assessment if you're concerned that you're becoming dehydrated, even if you aren't vomiting constantly. Severe nausea and an inability to eat or drink normally can also be signs that you need additional support.
Severe abdominal pain, a high temperature, blood in your vomit or other symptoms that don't seem typical of your Pregnancy Sickness also need prompt medical assessment. Don't assume every symptom is caused by pregnancy.
If you collapse, become confused or have another life-threatening symptom, call 999.
What is Hyperemesis Gravidarum?
Hyperemesis Gravidarum is the most severe form of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. It can leave you unable to eat and drink normally, prevent you from carrying out everyday activities and cause dehydration and significant weight loss.
It's more than feeling sick in the morning or occasionally being sick.
You might be spending most of the day in bed, struggling to look after yourself or your family, or finding that even small sips of water won't stay down. You may also feel exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed.
Not everyone with HG experiences symptoms in exactly the same way. You don't need to be vomiting every few minutes for your symptoms to be serious, and you shouldn't have to wait until you've lost a significant amount of weight before asking for help.
If your Pregnancy Sickness is stopping you from eating, drinking or functioning normally, contact your healthcare team. Treatment can make a real difference, and you deserve to be taken seriously.
What happens if I go to hospital with Pregnancy Sickness?
If you attend hospital because of severe Pregnancy Sickness, the team will assess how unwell you are and decide what treatment you need.
They may ask you:
-
How long you've been feeling sick and how often you're vomiting.
-
Whether you can keep any food, fluids or medication down.
-
How much urine you're passing and whether its colour has changed.
-
Whether you've lost weight.
-
Whether you've had Pregnancy Sickness or HG in a previous pregnancy.
-
Whether you have other symptoms or medical conditions.
They may check your pulse, blood pressure, temperature and weight, assess you for dehydration, and arrange urine or blood tests. Depending on your symptoms, they may also recommend an ultrasound scan.
Will I need a drip?
Not everyone who attends hospital needs to be admitted. Some people can receive treatment and return home the same day, if your hospital is able to offer that service.
If you're dehydrated or unable to drink enough, you may be offered fluids through a drip, sometimes called intravenous fluids. If you haven't already been prescribed them through your GP, you may also be given anti-sickness medication, which can sometimes be administered in a way that doesn't require you to swallow a tablet.
If your symptoms are severe, you have significant dehydration, your blood tests are abnormal or you cannot keep fluids or medication down, you may need to stay in hospital.
The aim is to treat the symptoms and complications, help you feel better and make sure you have a plan for continuing treatment after you leave.
What if my GP or midwife doesn't think I need hospital?
If you feel that your symptoms aren't being taken seriously, explain clearly how they're affecting you.
Rather than only saying that you're feeling sick, tell them what you're actually managing to eat and drink, how often you're vomiting, whether you're passing urine normally and whether you're able to get out of bed or carry out everyday activities.
If you can't keep fluids down, feel increasingly unwell or develop signs of dehydration, seek further medical advice rather than simply waiting for a routine appointment.
You can contact NHS 111 if you're unsure where to go. Depending on your symptoms and how far along you are in your pregnancy, you may be directed to your maternity assessment unit, an early pregnancy service or another appropriate service.
You are not wasting anyone's time by asking for help when you're struggling to manage.
From someone who's been there
Laura, co-founder of Replenish:
“When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was horrendously sick. I could vomit up to 40 times a day and was admitted to hospital repeatedly for fluids.
I know how quickly Pregnancy Sickness can take over your life. When you're in the middle of it, you're often just trying to get through the next hour. It's hard to think clearly about what you need, and you can end up feeling as though you should be able to cope with more than you actually can.
You shouldn't have to reach breaking point before someone takes your symptoms seriously.
If you're struggling to keep anything down or you're worried about how unwell you feel, please speak to your healthcare team. You don't have to just put up with it.”
Key takeaways
-
You don't need to reach a particular number of vomiting episodes before asking for medical help.
-
Dark urine, not passing urine for eight hours, dizziness, faintness and being unable to keep fluids down are important warning signs.
-
Severe Pregnancy Sickness can lead to dehydration, weight loss and electrolyte imbalances.
-
Hyperemesis Gravidarum can require hospital treatment, including fluids through a drip and anti-sickness medication.
-
If you're struggling to eat, drink or manage everyday activities, contact your GP or midwife.
-
If you're unsure where to get help, NHS 111 can advise you.
-
If you feel seriously unwell, don't wait for symptoms to get worse.
References
-
NHS: Vomiting and morning sickness
-
NHS: Severe vomiting in pregnancy
-
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG): Pregnancy sickness, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and Hyperemesis Gravidarum
-
RCOG: The Management of Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy and Hyperemesis Gravidarum
-
Pregnancy Sickness Support: Information and support for women experiencing Pregnancy Sickness and HG
