In-home treatment of Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe Morning Sickness)

Pregnancy nausea is usually limited to the first 3 months (or first trimester) of pregnancy. It eases off at about 12–14 weeks as the placenta becomes established and the pregnancy hormones such as hCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin) reduce. With hyperemesis, symptoms can start earlier, at about 6 weeks, and are much more severe than normal morning sickness. Some people report vomiting (being sick) up to 50 times a day. On average, symptoms of hyperemesis improve at about week 20 but they can be experienced until birth.Often people who are pregnant can identify specific triggers for their nausea, eg, specific smells, feeling hot or certain foods.

When to seek treatment

About 10% of pregnant people will still have nausea and vomiting despite following preventative measures and recommendations. If you’re unable to keep fluids and food down, you are at risk of dehydration (lack of fluids) and malnutrition (lack of nutrition).

Signs of dehydration include:

feeling ‘dry’ or very thirsty
urine changing from a light yellow to a dark yellow or brown colour
light-headedness or fainting.

Signs of malnutrition include:

weight loss
light-headedness or fainting
feeling weak
appearing more pale than usual
feeling cold all the time
low mood
ketosis – a condition caused by a raised number of ketones in your blood and urine (ketones are poisonous acidic chemicals that are produced when your body breaks down fat, rather than glucose, for energy) which can be very serious in pregnancy.

If you have severe nausea and vomiting contact your midwife or doctor, ideally before you become dehydrated or start to lose weight. Your symptoms may improve with anti-nausea medicines and B6 vitamin supplementation, so it’s worth getting onto it early.

Contact your GP or midwife immediately if you:

have very dark-coloured urine or don’t pass urine for more than 8 hours
are unable to keep food or fluids down for 24 hours
feel severely weak, dizzy or faint when standing up
have abdominal (tummy) pain
have a high temperature (fever) of 38°C or above
vomit (throw up) blood
have pain when passing urine or any blood in your urine (this may be a urine infection).

How can we help you

Paramedic Associates is proud to offer a dedicated team of Registered Health Care Professionals to support you with the management of HG in the community. Ideally this is in conjunction with your LMC, GP or Specialist, however in the absence of this, we can treat you directly without a referral if clinically indicated, in conjunction with one of our medical practitioners.

Our dedicated Nurses and Paramedics work with you to deliver safe and effective treatment in the safety and comfort of your own home.

Funding

Our service, in the absence of a referral*, is privately funded, and payment is required at time of treatment. A full medical receipt is provided, and you may be able to claim through your medical insurance.

* Where a referral is completed from a GP, LMC or specialist, your referrer may be able to claim our fees through primary health funded services.

Fees

Our Service is Available in Christchurch / Rangiora / Rolleston / Darfield / Lincoln / Lyttelton / Nelson / Richmond / Motueka. Additional travel time is charged outside of these areas.

Our standard fee for a full treatment below is $300 + GST, this includes consumables and medications. Where, during the clinical treatment, it is decided that IV treatment is not indicated or recommended, you will be charged a reduced assessment fee of $100 + GST (this includes oral antiemetic if indicated).

What our service Includes

Clinical Assessment

We start with a clinical assessment, including Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, SPO2, BGL, Urine Analysis, PUQE-24 Score, and general hydration assessment.

Blood Tests

Where requested by your LMC, GP or Specialist, we can take blood tests and send to the lab at time of treatment.

IV Fluid Replacement

Our team have extensive experience in putting in IVs in critical and dehydrated patients, giving them the edge over others in gaining IV access in dehydrated patients.

IV /Oral Anti-nausea Medication

We carry a range of IV and oral anti-nausea medication, and where indicated, administer the best medication for you based on your symptoms.

Documentation

At the completion of each treatment session, you will receive a detailed summary of treatment provided, and where requested, can provide a copy to your LMC / GP / Specialist.

Observation Period

following the treatment, we provide a 60min observation period to ensure no adversity.

Best Practice

In the absence of a referral, we work in conjunction with our medical practitioners to deliver care based on our clinical assessment, and our clinical governance framework. Our team utilises protocols based on Health Pathways and Guidelines of the Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australia and New Zealand.

Our team of Registered Health Care Professionals are trained to the highest standard, carry equipment to manage any eventuality, including medications for the management for allergic reaction, airway management and cardiac arrest.