Cookbook author Ayesha Curry says extreme morning sickness kept her out of the kitchen

It’s no secret that many mamas experience nausea and food aversions during pregnancy, but extreme morning sickness or Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is less common but harder on a mom’s physical and mental health, sometimes even impacting her ability to work—and when you work with food it’s doubly difficult.

Just ask restaurateur and cookbook author Ayesha Curry, who is currently expecting her third child and dealing with HG. After months of sickness, she is starting to feel better and “praising God because I can finally eat and cook a little bit again!”

“I’ve had five hospital stays since the new year and have pretty much been sucking at life (at least that’s how it’s felt),” Curry recently revealed on Instagram (women suffering from HG are often hospitalized to treat dehydration and malnutrition caused by the extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting).

The 29-year-old mom of two—and wife to NBA player Steph Curry—is among the less than 2% of pregnant women who suffer from HG. She has been very open about her struggles with the condition, noting on her blog that it has made her a firm believer in the idea that every pregnancy is different.

“This is my third pregnancy and I’ve gotta tell ya, this one has topped the cake when it comes to being tough and exhausting. I️ simply cannot wait to have this baby and feel like ‘myself again’,” she wrote back in February. “The nausea, incessant sickness and exhaustion probably won’t go away. The only silver linings here are that my itty bitty baby is healthy and Princess Kate has suffered from the same condition during her pregnancies. Not feeling super royal though.”

Hyperemesis gravidarum has been hard on Curry, who says she doesn’t think she’s depressed, but definitely felt down while dealing with HG.

“Hospitality and cooking are my passion and I️ love nothing more than seeing someone’s face when they taste an unforgettable bite. For the past 4 months, I’ve barely been able to eat let alone cook.” She says there’s been “a lot of going into my restaurant simply to say hello and have a non-alcoholic beverage with my diners,” but she is hopeful that she’s now turned a corner in her pregnancy and can avoid further hospitalizations and get back to doing what she loves.

She’s set to open a new restaurant in Miami this summer, so it’s probably a huge relief to be feeling better.

Meanwhile, researchers are hopeful that a treatment for HG could be on the horizon, as a new study has identified genes associated with the condition. It could be good news for mamas like Curry, because (especially when you work with food), extreme nausea for months at a time is hard on a mama’s body, mind and, sometimes, her career.

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