A UK woman who was 28 weeks pregnant took her own life after struggling with severe pregnancy sickness that “no one took seriously”. According to People, Jess Cronshaw, 26, had been diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), an extreme version of pregnancy sickness with which Kate Middleton famously struggled. She was 28 weeks pregnant when she took her own life in November 2022. Ms Jess’ mother, Susan Cronshaw, is now sharing her daughter’s story as she believes that if one person had helped her daughter “it would have changed the outcome altogether”.
“I wouldn’t want anybody to feel how Jess did. She felt like no one was listening – and they weren’t. It felt like you were just pushed from pillar to post. There was nobody taking it and being in charge of it,” Susan Cronshaw said, per the outlet.
According to Cleveland Clinic, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a debilitating condition that causes extreme nausea and vomiting, often leading to weight loss and dehydration. In most cases, it can be managed with medication at home, however, in extreme cases it requires patients to be hospitalised and given IVs.
Ms Susan said that during her pregnancy, her daughter couldn’t drink or eat. “Her weight was dropping off her. Her skin was white. She just wasn’t Jess,” Ms Susan said. Moreover, Ms Jess said in a voice memo to a friend that it was the “hardest thing” she has ever gone through in her life. “The constant nausea, there’s no relief from it. I just spend my days in bed. It’s just horrible,” the 26-year-old allegedly told her friend.
Ms Susan said that no one recognised just how sick her daughter was. Despite anti-nausea medication, Ms Jess was advised not to take it because it could harm her baby, she said.
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Ms Jess died by suicide when she was 28 weeks pregnant. Her daughter Elsie was delivered via C-section but died four days later, the outlet reported.
An inquest into Ms Jess’ death concluded that “feeling unheard” contributed to “the deterioration of her mental health,” and that she was given “incorrect” guidance to stop the anti-nausea medication. It also noted that the 26-year-old had “not been referred to any mental health service or support”.
“That’s all it would have (taken), one individual to do something for Jess, and it would have changed the outcome altogether. I know that, and I live with that,” Ms Susan said.
