From 2000 to 2020, we have been building a healthier future for the next generation! Over the past 20 years, we have offered support and resources to over 2,000,000 people across the globe. We hope you enjoy these highlights from our start as a patient-driven organization to our current role as the leading HG research and education organization in the world.
2000 – Kimber MacGibbon writes the first Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) website on the internet: Hyperemesis.org. The site has been rebuilt and updated five times over the years, most recently in May 2020.
2001 – We join with Dr. Marlena Fejzo, Harvard-trained geneticist, to further HG research.
2002 – Kimber meets Ann Marie and Jeremy King, and the three partner to create a nonprofit and raise awareness about HG.
2003 – The Hyperemesis Education and Research Organization becomes a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and the Hyperemesis Education and Research (HER) Foundation is born.
2004 – Our support forums merge with the Delphi HG boards to unite the online HG community to offer a single point of support and resources for families.
2005 – We hold a Congressional briefing in Washington D.C. and begin our formal research relationship with UCLA.
2006 – We create an HG registry that is now the largest collection of HG data in the world.
2007 – Our groundbreaking outcomes study on the psychosocial impact of HG is published in the Journal of Perinatology, and we appear on the Dr. Phil Show to offer HG expertise.
2008 – We are halfway to the 1,000 participants we need for our genetic study and continue to recruit, laying the groundwork for essential research.
2009 – Our discussion forums are thriving and offering support to thousands of women across the globe while behind the scenes, research and awareness work are happening to prepare for our second decade.
2010 – Our first publication in the prestigious AJOG proves there is familial aggregation of HG and provides strong evidence for a genetic component to HG.
2011 – We publish five studies in peer reviewed journals including the first study on fetal outcomes and the impact of HG on children as well as the incidence of PTSD in women with HG.
2012 – May 15th is declared Hyperemesis World Awareness Day, and we host our first 5K. This day has grown over the years to encompass an entire month with education, awareness, and community events.
2013 – Thanks to our community, we donate over $45,000 to UCLA for HG research. We advocate for further research opportunities at the Biology of Nausea & Vomiting Research Conference.
2014 – We gather as a community to raise awareness and have fun at the second HER 5K in National Harbor, Washington DC.
2015 – We attend the first International Colloquium on Hyperemesis Gravidarum (ICHG), and we publish the first of its kind study on neurodevelopmental outcomes for offspring in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
2016 – We publish the discovery of a gene, RYR2, associated with HG and Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, and contribute to the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology HG Management Guidelines. We also develop the first evidence-based app for HG with UCLA mHealth.
2017 – We host our first booth at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) Conference, thanks to the fundraising of our community, and educate hundreds of doctors about HG. Kimber and Marlena return to the biannual ICHG conference where Kimber presents the HELP Score and HG Care App, and Marlena gives a talk on our genetics research. We also hold our 5K in Chicago.
2018 – Our new Board of Directors begins its work. The HG Care App becomes available at no charge to iOS users. We make further breakthroughs in our genetic research with the discovery of GDF15 and IGFBP7.
2019 – We lead an international collaboration publishing in one of the leading journals, Nature Communications. Marlena and Kimber speak at ICHG 2019. We exhibit at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) in Las Vegas. Our first staff member is hired to help Kimber part-time as we work toward a sustainable model that will continue our mission into the next decade, and we launch our Internship Initiative with the University of Michigan. Work begins on our global HG documentary.
2020 – We host a booth at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicince (SMFM) Conference to educate doctors, and Dr. Fejzo presents an oral abstract on our genetic research, which is our first speaking opportunity at SMFM. Expecting Amy airs with Kimber appearing in the second episode to explain HG. HER launches a collaborative campaign, 1 MOM is 2 Many, to eradicate preventable maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality.
We are so thankful for our community and can’t wait to see what the new decade brings!
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