Anyone who has experienced nausea and vomiting in pregnancy can attest to the misleading nature of the title ‘morning sickness’.

For many, morning sickness can last all day, often for most of the first trimester, and sometimes beyond.

For some, it doesn’t end until the baby and placenta are born.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum affects one to two per cent of pregnant people, causing debilitating nausea and vomiting for most if not all of pregnancy.

It is diagnosed when nausea and vomiting of pregnancy are extremely severe (up to 50 times a day in some cases), persists past the first trimester, or results in a weight loss of at least five percent of pre-pregnancy weight.

The condition is serious and can lead to dehydration and malnutrition of both mother and baby, as well as increased risk of weight loss and preeclampsia. Half of all mothers with Hyperemesis Gravidarum may also develop depression or anxiety.

With so much conflicting information, it can be confusing to find the best foods for your breastfeeding journey. If I asked a room full of breastfeeding mothers which foods trigger tummy troubles for their babies, I’d be left with an overwhelming list of foods to avoid.  And for every list of foods claiming to increase breast milk, is another list contradicting everything on the one before it.

Although all prenatal testing and screening is optional, a large majority of pregnant people in Australia will undergo the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy.

It’s no secret that fertility is my passion as a naturopath. So I thought I’d share some of the basics about reproductive health, and what factors can help and hinder the baby-making process.

Becoming a mum is exhausting. All of a sudden, you have another human 100% reliant on you. That’s a lot of stress to be under! So it’s no surprise that many of us experience the dreaded ‘mum fatigue’. Sometimes, it lasts for a few months, sometimes, it lasts decades!