Beyond Baby Blues
Around 1 in 5 women will experience a mental health problem during pregnancy or in the early years after having a baby. In Beyond Baby Blues, perinatal psychiatrists Lynsey and Chrissy discuss topical issues in maternal mental health.
This podcast is for anyone with an interest in pregnancy, parenting, and mental health: if you are a parent or expectant parent, a healthcare professional working with women and birthing people, or just want to know more about this emerging field, then there is something in the podcast for you!
With thanks to the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry.
Beyond Baby Blues
Hyperemesis gravidarum
Pregnancy sickness is a spectrum: while most women experience some degree of pregnancy sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a severe form at the extreme end of the spectrum. It affects about 3% of pregnancies and it can involve serious physical and psychological complications.
In this episode we think about HG from our perspective as perinatal psychiatrists: what do mental health professionals need to know about HG? how does it affect mental health? and what can we do to support women with this condition?
Useful links:
- Pregnancy Sickness Support
- The ObsPod episode on HG
- Pregnancy Unique Quantification of Emesis (PUQE) score
- RCOG Green Top Guideline
- Psychological morbidity associated with HG: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Mitchell-Jones et al, 2017)
- Understanding the support needs of women with HG (Challacombe et al, 2025)
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health difficulties, there is lots of help available. You can contact your primary care provider in the first instance, or if you are based in the UK the NHS perinatal mental health website will help you to find support in your local area.
