Healing the Tigress Ep. 54 - Surviving Hyperemesis Gravidarum Across Two Pregnancies & Countries with Raag Malhotra, MSc., PMH-C
Today’s guest will be talking about the topic of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) , which is a severe form of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy that requires medical intervention. Raag Malhotra is a PMH-C certified perinatal mental health therapist who transformed her own journey through postpartum depression and HG across two pregnancies into a mission to support mothers navigating their darkest moments.
Raag is a mother of two and brings a unique lens of experiencing one pregnancy in India during the pandemic and the second pregnancy in the United States. She was not informed that getting hyperemesis gravidarum in her first pregnancy gave her a higher chance of recurring HG in subsequent pregnancies. We talk about how Raag navigated HG in both pregnancies and how she finally found validation in her condition with the right providers and treatment plans.
We discuss how while HG is a very physically taxing and traumatic experience during pregnancy, it is equally tolling on mental health. Through her online platform and her dual-market practice serving clients in India and the US diaspora community, Raag creates a bridge between evidence-based care and the raw, authentic reality of maternal mental health struggles in South Asian families. She brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to her work with South Asian mothers who face unique cultural pressures around mental health treatment.
To this day, Raag says she has yet to find another South Asian mother tell her that they had HG too. However, we have a feeling she's not alone, and maybe this episode might help her connect with another mother in her community who experienced it too!
Find More of Raag:
Instagram: @momsinnerjourney
Resources Mentioned:
- HER Foundation Instagram: @hgmoms
- HER Foundation: https://www.hyperemesis.org/
- @hg.Canada
- Pregnancy Sickness Support UK
- Dr. Marlena S. Fejzo
- GD15 linked to maternal risk of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy - Link to paper
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