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If you're vomiting a lot during your pregnancy, you may be in danger of becoming dehydrated. If so, you may be admitted to the hospital.

If you are admitted, here's what's likely to happen.

• A doctor or nurse will take your temperature, blood pressure and pulse, and listen to your breathing with a stethoscope.
• A sample of blood will be taken from a vein, most likely in your arm. The blood will be tested for water and chemicals. If these aren't present in the right amounts, you may be dehydrated.
• Your urine will be tested for chemicals called ketones. Your body makes these when it doesn't have enough water, so their presence is another sign that you're dehydrated.
• If you're dehydrated, fluid, minerals and nutrients will be given to you through a needle inserted into a vein, probably in your arm.
• In very rare cases when vomiting is extremely bad, a feeding tube is placed through your nose, past your stomach and into your small intestine. Liquid food is given to you through the tube. This can help to get food moving through your intestine and reduce nausea and vomiting.
• You'll be encouraged to eat and drink small amounts of food and liquid as often as you can.
• If absolutely necessary, you'll get some medications to treat nausea and vomiting. Doctors try to avoid giving you medications before your 12th week of pregnancy since your baby is still forming then. To learn more, see What treatments work for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy?
• A doctor or nurse will check your baby's heartbeat by loosely attaching a strap with a patch called an ultrasound transducer around your abdomen. The patch picks up your baby's heartbeat, if it can be heard. The heartbeat can be heard in most women by the time they are 12 weeks pregnant, and in some women by the 9th or 10th weeks of pregnancy. If the heartbeat is not normal, your doctor will try to find out what is affecting the baby and will keep close watch on you.
• You'll probably be weighed every day to see if you're losing or gaining weight.
• Your doctor may order other tests, including a test to check for a high level of thyroid hormone, a test to make sure your liver is working normally, or a blood test to check for the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which can cause indigestion and lead to ulcers.

You'll be able to leave the hospital when:

• The water and chemicals in your body are at the right amounts
• You're no longer dehydrated
• You're able to eat and drink enough to keep from getting dehydrated again.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.