When photographer and artist Clare Hughes recovered from her first pregnancy she was also coming to terms with her first experience of Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), a severe pregnancy illness affecting women of all ages and backgrounds, its symptoms include constant nausea, vomiting, and dehydration. It leaves the mother distraught after months of physical and emotional turmoil.
As a result of Clare’s lived experience, The Hidden Mothers exhibition at Science Gallery London is a participatory project with HG sufferers. Based on archival research it uses the Victorian ‘hidden mother’ (a 19th century trend in infant photography where the mother was concealed in fabric to hold their baby still for an extended period of time) visual metaphor for how its participants have felt during their pregnancies.
The photographed creative act helps distance the participant from their experience providing a powerful cathartic perspective, while contributing to the message: we won’t be hidden anymore.
Images in the exhibition are accompanied by personal captions from participants that highlight the life-limiting reality of living with Hyperemesis Gravidarum during pregnancy.
“I feel frustrated that my HG symptoms were dismissed by some people (including healthcare professionals) and that the severe impact HG has on day-to-day life for sufferers and their families is so rarely understood. I am also sad that I had such a negative pregnancy experience each time.
As a result of the severe sickness and nausea I suffered in both pregnancies, I was so mentally and physically exhausted by the time my children were born, the postpartum period was undoubtedly more difficult.
I now volunteer for Pregnancy Sickness Support as I am keen to raise awareness about HG and to help others who are suffering.”
Becca
About The Hidden Mothers project
HG has gone virtually unrecognised by the medical establishment despite an estimated 30,000 suffering from it every year in the UK. HG, and the lack of clinical care provision, has resulted in terminations, prohibited choice and has been associated with depression leading to suicide.
This new exhibition is linked to a project led by King’s College London and to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, which aims to ensure all Hyperemesis Gravidarum sufferers can access guideline-recommended care for the condition.
Work from The Hidden Mothers has been presented at the Houses of Parliament, London, UK, in collaboration with the charity Pregnancy Sickness Support and at the International Colloquium on Hyperemesis Gravidarum 2024, California, USA, in collaboration with the charity HER Foundation.
Credits
Exhibition by Clare Hughes, supported by King’s College London in collaboration with Professors Catherine Nelson-Piercy and Catherine Williamson, Doctor Melanie Nana and Jennifer Fraser, PhD.
Supporting the One King’s Impact Priority: Whole-life health for mind and body