How The Duchess's Pregnancy Was Announced Early After Bout Of Severe Morning Sickness

              

They had planned to save their happy announcement for Christmas Day when the royal family were
all due to gather together to enjoy the festive period at Sandringham.

But on December 4 last year - exactly three weeks before they planned to reveal they were having a baby - the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's intense joy was tinged with fear as Kate was struck down with acute morning sickness.


Soon afterwards Kate was admitted to hospital and they had little choice but had to make the ‘reluctant and difficult’ decision to make the announcement. The couple initially had ‘no plans whatsoever’ to announce the pregnancy until after she had had her 12-week scan, MailOnline understood at the time.


The 31-year-old was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) - a rare and severe form of morning sickness believed to affect up to two per cent of women in pregnancy.


It is understood that Kate was put on a drip as she struggled to remain hydrated.


Members of the Royal Family – including the Queen and grandfather-to-be Prince Charles – were informed less than an hour before the statement was put out at 4pm that day.


Uncle-to-be Prince Harry, who is serving in Afghanistan, was told by email at his base and the announcement was also Tweeted by Clarence House, prompting the couple’s official website to crash.


It was believed that Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, became aware of their daughter’s news at the weekend, however.


She was staying with them in Berkshire when her condition deteriorated.


Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) tends to be more common in young mothers, women who are in their first pregnancy, and those with multiple pregnancies.

Experts say it normally occurs during weeks six and eight of pregnancy, when the placenta takes over production of hormones from the ovaries.


Prince William looking pale after wife falls ill in December


Women with HG often lose weight - usually over 10 per cent of their body weight - and feel tired and dizzy.

At the time Kate looked particularly thin.

Victims may also find they are passing water less often than usual, and the main risk is dehydration which can lead to headache, palpitations and confusion.

After her release from hospital it was clear that the Duchess had been hit badly by the illness, which affects three in every one thousand pregnant women, and she was forced to rest quietly at their home in Kensington Palace for several more weeks.

As is usual, the illness appeared to have passed by 21 weeks of pregnancy, and Kate went on to be publicly active until the weeks before she went into labour.

The Duchess made a full recovery and continued with a light diary of public engagements until mid-June, setting the fashion world alight with her choice of elegant maternity outfits - ranging from Topshop dresses to bespoke Emelia Wickstead outfits.

The last time she was officially seen in public was at Trooping the Colour on June 15.

But her stay in hospital was marked with tragedy when a prank call made by Australian DJs Michael Christian and his co-host Mel Greig, who were working on Sydney's 2Day FM radio station, rang the hospital pretending to be Prince Charles and the Queen and were put through to the Duchess of Cambridge's ward at King Edward VII's Hospital.

Jacintha Saldanha, a night sister, was the senior nurse on duty when she took a call at 5.30am from Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who were pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles.

                                   


She unwittingly transferred the call to a colleague, who described in detail the condition of Kate, who was being treated for severe morning sickness.


Mrs Saldanha later committed suicide.