An expectant mum lost three stone while pregnant after being sick up to 60 times a day due to same morning sickness condition which plagued Kate Middleton.
First time mum Stacey Teakle, now 30, was thrilled when she found out she was pregnant on her 28th birthday - but had no idea of the hellish journey ahead for her.
What first appeared to be normal morning sickness quickly spiralled out of control and soon Stacey was vomiting up to 60 times a day due to a condition called hyperemesis.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is the medical term for severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy and has affected Kim Kardashian, Amy Schumer and Mandy Moore.
Stacey was hospitalised six times and lost 3st - and the condition left her on the verge of having a heart attack - before she welcomed baby Ophelia.
She said the ordeal has made her decide to not have any more kids.
Emergency services call operator Stacey, from Neath, Wales, said: "I absolutely love being a mum.
"Ophelia is the best thing to ever happen to me, but my pregnancy was just awful.
"I was so unwell that I was being sick 60 times a day.
"I couldn't even keep water down.
"I could barely leave my bed and my husband had to shower me - I just had no energy.
"The smell evasions I had were horrendous too.
"My husband wouldn't be able to cook strong smelling foods in the kitchen, even if I was upstairs in bed, because it would trigger my sickness.
"My body went into starvation mode so my liver and kidneys started shutting down.
"My potassium levels got so low that I was on the verge of having a heart attack and I ended up losing three stone in weight.
"My husband and I always wanted multiple kids but that's not going to be able to happen for us any more.
"I was so unwell, we just can't go through that again, and it wouldn't be fair to Ophelia either."
Stacey and husband Sam, 27, a prisoner custody officer, had been trying for a baby for a month before Stacey discovered she was pregnant in February 3, 2020.
Just one week after announcing their news to their loved ones, Stacey was hospitalised at six weeks pregnant.
Over the next few months, Stacey was repeatedly sent home when her nausea subsided and then being rushed back into hospital as the repeated sickness left her weak.
Stacey suffered gallbladder issues and became so weak that she could barely leave her bed.
Supportive husband Sam had to help Stacey shower and bath, and one scary evening saw them call an ambulance after Stacey collapsed after a shower.
Stacey said: "Sam had just helped shower me - I basically sat in the bath tub whilst he showered me with the shower head - which he had to do multiple times as I just had no energy at all.
"He was blow drying my hair in the bedroom afterwards, and I was sat on the floor when I just fainted and ended up hitting my head on the bedside cabinet.
"That night, we counted how many times I was throwing up, and it was 60 times in a 24 hour period. It was horrific.
"We called an ambulance but they just gave me an anti-sickness injection. They'd already tried that in hospital and it didn't work, I just couldn't stop being sick."
Despite Stacey being so poorly, her little baby was completely healthy.
Doctors slowly introduced more and more medication into Stacey's system after she passed the 20 week mark of her pregnancy.
By the time she gave birth, Stacey says she was taking 19 different types of medication, including steroids.
Stacey said: "I was worried about what all these different medications would do to my baby.
"But I was having regular scans and she was doing absolutely fine so they were carefully giving me more and more drugs because I was so unwell.
"I couldn't even keep water down at that point, and was being fed fluids and medication through a drip in the hospital.
"It was very difficult going through that whilst in the middle of covid as I wasn't allowed any visitors in the hospital when I was admitted.
"On one hospital stay, I ended up having a breakdown to a midwife one night about how I felt like a failure and I didn't feel like I could go on much longer suffering like I was.
"She sat with me for the majority of her night shift, just listening to me and being there for me. Still to this day, I'm so grateful for it."
Stacey went into labour a month early but had an emergency C section when her baby's heart rate shot to 250bpm.
Baby Ophelia was born on September 21, 2020, but was rushed to NICU with low blood sugar and it was another six hours after giving birth until Stacey got to hold her baby.
Despite the traumatic birth, Stacey woke up with all nausea subsided and finally got to eat a proper meal for the first time in months - bangers and mash.
Stacey said: "I was a bit all over the shop, really, being put under suddenly and then not being able to hold Ophelia immediately, but I had support then.
"It's funny - the first thing I said when I woke up was I don't feel sick any more. It was just suddenly gone as if it was never there.
"The first meal I had was bangers and mash in the hospital. It was genuinely the best meal I've ever had! It felt so good to finally eat again and not be sick."
Stacey added: "I'm so thankful to finally have my daughter - it's amazing - but I do feel jealous of people who had a normal pregnancy, didn't go through what I did and still got their baby at the end of it. It's hard.
"My advice to those going through hyperemesis is be persistent and adamant with getting help from doctors.
"A lot of nurses told me to just eat ginger biscuits - I couldn't even keep water down! If you can't fight for it yourself, have someone there who can fight for you."
