Kimber Wakefield MacGibbon, RN
Kimber has been a registered nurse since 1989 and began as an ICU nurse, then moved into medical technology, nutriceuticals, and medical-legal consulting. She survived HG twice, delivering a child in 1999 and 2003. Her difficulty getting treatment and dealing with the residual health issues of HG ignited a passion to eliminate the suffering and losses that plague families facing HG. She put the first comprehensive site on HG (hyperemesis.org) online in 2000, and with the help of Ann Marie and Jeremy King, transitioned that site into a non-profit charity called the HER Foundation in 2003. Since then, HER has lead the progress on HG research, advocacy, awareness, and education.
“After talking with thousands of families over the last two decades, I still find it shocking to hear how many women are denied needed medical care such that they fear their death or that of their child’s. Thousands of babies die each year before birth, and some mothers in countries like the United States still lose their lives as well.”
It’s no surprise that many of these survivors have signs of post-traumatic stress disorder postpartum, and children with actual or increased risk for long-term health issues. There is sustaining medical care and treatments that are effective in the majority of women, giving them at least enough relief to survive the pregnancy and reduce the occurrence of adverse complications.
Unfortunately, the stress and malnutrition associated with hyperemesis increases the incidence of emotional and developmental disorders in a significant number of children born to mothers with HG. The HER Foundation has been at the forefront leading collaborative research on the impact of HG on families, and helped identify the first genes causing HG. We now can disprove the myths about HG being a three month disorder with no ill effects on mother and child. The impact of HG lasts a lifetime and impose a great burden, financially, medically and socially, which may affect future generations.”
Read more of Kimber’s story here.
