Sky Sports presenter Michelle Owen has announced that she is pregnant – but is ‘fighting for the lives’ of both herself and her unborn child.
The EFL host, who has a four-year-old son, Zac, with her husband, Adam, revealed on social media that she is pregnant but was taken to hospital as she suffers from Hyperemesis gravidarum. HG is a complication of pregnancy that only up to two percent of women experience, and causes extreme nausea and vomiting. In extreme cases, it is potentially life-threatening to mums, according to the HER Foundation.
Owen suffered with HG during her first pregnancy and has since become a Pregnancy Sickness Support Ambassador to help raise awareness for the condition. She has previously raised money for PSS – running 100km in 40 days.
Now pregnant for the second time, she had hoped to not suffer from the effects of HG, but taking to social media on Wednesday night admitted that, sadly: “It’s been the worst eight weeks of my life.”
Posting on Instagram for the first time since New Year’s Day, Owen, who has also been off TV in recent weeks, shared a picture of her hand connected to an IV drip as she lay down on a hospital bed. She also posted a picture of the baby scan.
She said: “Life has been turned upside down in the last weeks. We knew the risks of trying for another baby, stupidly optimistic maybe Hyperemesis wouldn’t be as bad this time. Wrong. “It’s been so severe even IV drips straight into me wouldn’t stop it. I was being sick every 20 minutes. Steroids finally got it under control yet they come with so many side effects. By then my body was in meltdown, my blood salts and levels at dangerous levels.
“This has happened repeatedly and is so hard. I’ve spent so much time in hospital not only have I been physically floored, but mentally. I’ve never been so unwell.
“So this isn’t a normal happy pregnancy announcement, I know we are lucky but this is a battle for survival every single day. For us both. I miss my life, I miss being a proper mum to Zac, I miss my work. I can’t wait to be back at work as soon as I’m able but this is why I’ve been off. My husband has become my carer literally dressing and washing me I’ve become so weak. “Somehow baby is seems to be doing fine! Thank you for your messages, I really hope to be better very soon and back doing what I love.”
