Mothers Share Their Own Pregnancy Complications Following Kate Middleton's Hospitalization

Pregnancy often comes with extreme joy, as well as difficulties. Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, announced her pregnancy this week, however the excitement of a royal baby came with a health scare. It was also revealed that Middleton was being treated for a rare but severe form of morning sickness, called hyperemesis gravidarum. In light of Middleton's announcement and hospitalization, Yahoo! asked mothers to share their own stories of pregnancy complications.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum: Not Your Ordinary Morning Sickness

My sympathies lie with Kate Middleton right now. Hyperemesis gravidarum is not your ordinary morning sickness. While I had severe morning sickness with #1 and #2, it was #3 that put me over the top into full-blown first-trimester hyperemesis gravidarium. To translate: hyper means "beyond" and emesis is, in plain English, upchucking. I was throwing up every single day, several times a day, to the point where I couldn't keep anything down. I actually lost close to 10 pounds and got dangerously dehydrated. Treatment was IV fluids, anti-nausea drugs, and eating whatever I could keep down once my stomach had settled a bit. My midwife was worried I would lose my baby. Fortunately, medication and fluids worked. I gained weight, and at 43 weeks birthed an almost-9-pound boy.

— Susi Albright

I Miscarried One But Gave Birth to Two

Like Kate Middleton, I had complications early in my first pregnancy. Before I ever felt kicks or heard a heartbeat, I loved my babies, and these complications were a terribly frightening experience. My first pregnancy was the result of in vitro fertilization. I only had three eggs successfully fertilize during the procedure, and my doctor and I decided to implant all three embryos. After nearly a decade of trying to conceive, I was pregnant with triplets.

Unfortunately, just weeks into the pregnancy, I began to bleed. Confined to bed rest, praying for my babies, I was terrified. At my next examination, I discovered I had lost one of the babies. I miscarried one, but was still expecting the other two. Pain, grief, joy and relief were all mixed together in emotions few will ever experience and I will never forget.

— Tavia Fuller Armstrong

Struggles With Placenta Previa

When I was 19 I found out that I was pregnant. It was an unplanned pregnancy and I was not prepared for it at all. I was on my own, except for my select family and friends that came to terms with this. At my first ultrasound, the technician threw me for another loop: Not only was I pregnant, I also had placenta previa. This is a condition where the placenta is growing over the cervix, making it impossible for a vaginal birth. Not only that, it also makes it possible for the placenta to hemorrhage, killing your baby and you if not treated immediately.

This limited many things that I could do. Luckily, my previa was a marginal case, which is one of the circumstances that is not as extreme as other cases. When I was six and a half months pregnant, my placenta had shifted and moved away from the cervix. I was able to have my daughter vaginally and she was a very healthy baby. I got extremely lucky compared to some of the other women who have a previa.

— Sarah Parrish

Placenta Abruptio Caused Pre-Term Labor

I had a serious pregnancy complication called placenta abruptio, which is a separation of the placenta from the uterine wall. I went into labor a month before I was due. It was only after the doctor had broken my water that he realized there was an issue. When he broke my water, blood came gushing out instead of water. I was immediately put into an operating room to have an emergency C-section. I lost over 50 percent of the blood in my body, and my child had to be resuscitated. But it was worth the difficult experience because my child grew up healthy and happy.

— Debi Rideout

Final-Week Ultrasound Scare

It was my first pregnancy, and everything had been perfect. Minimal nausea, average weight gain, healthy checkups, and two normal ultrasounds. No worries whatsoever until the third ultrasound, when I saw the look in the ultrasound technician's eyes. She excused herself from the room, leaving my husband and I in a state of wonder and worry. Five minutes later, my obstetrician came back to tell us they had seen a spot on the baby, possibly a shadow, maybe a tumor. They couldn't tell, so they sent us immediately to a high-risk OB/GYN for another ultrasound. Less than 24 hours later we got the answer we were hoping for. It wasn't a tumor, just a largish thyroid gland that doesn't normally show up on ultrasounds. The original technician had sharp eyes and a good heart. We had a healthy baby, something nobody should take for granted, not even for a single day.

— Deborah Muller

Put on Bed Rest Starting at Nine Weeks

My pregnancy was wonderful until our 9th week. That was when complications began. Everything caused bleeding and contractions. It was decided that I would be put on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy. My son was an IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) baby. My uterus was not adapting and was restricting his growth and development.

With contractions at 27 weeks and every move I made a cause for concern, we started preparing for a preemie. We were always hoping for one more week. Finally, by 33 weeks, my antenatal specialist measured amniotic fluid and growth. My fluid decreased by 31 percent and he hadn't shown any growth in 2 weeks. We decided to induce labor. During labor his heart beat became undetectable and they performed an emergency C-section. I went from a woman in labor, to a surgical patient, to a mother in 4 minutes total. I had my son.

— Joanie Brodecki