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.

Whether we are delivering clinical care or designing and improving healthcare services, the voice of lived experience should be at the heart of everything that we do.

In this episode we speak to Sakina Ballard (trustee for Make Birth Better and Maternal Mental Health Alliance) about peer support and experts by experience in perinatal mental health.

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.

Infant feeding is an intrinsic part of parenthood. When it goes well it can be incredibly rewarding, but it's not always straightforward and many parents experience difficulties.

In this episode, Lynsey and Chrissy discuss the different factors that influence feeding decisions, the intricate relationship between infant feeding and mental health, and the challenges around medication and breastfeeding.

References and resources:

• Supporting positive conversations about feeding choice and mental health (The Breastfeeding Network, 2017)
• Guilt, shame, and postpartum feeding outcomes: a systematic review (Jackson et al., 2021)
• The Breastfeeding Network
• First Steps Nutrition Trust
• GP Infant Feeding Network
• World Health Organisation factsheets
• The politics of breastfeeding - Gabriel Palmer
• Why formula feeding matters - Shel Banks
• Why breastfeeding matters - Charlotte Young

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.