On yesterday's Loose Women, panellists Andrea McLean, Linda Robson, Jane Moore and Saira Khan turned their attention to one of the most talked about topics in yesterday's news – little Prince George's first day of school.
While looking at the adorable photos of George arriving for his first morning at Thomas's Battersea, it was pointed out in an offhand comment that Kate wasn't present to drop her son off because she was suffering from 'morning sickness'.
However, the failure of the panel to highlight the severity of Kate's condition, an acute and debilitating sickness known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum, angered viewers at home.
'@loosewomen Please Andrea, don't call hyperemesis gravidarum 'morning sickness'. That's an insult as it's so much more than that!' one watcher wrote on Twitter.
'HG is a terrible condition, far worse than 'morning sickness' which is how it's been described by @thismorning & @loosewomen Wise Up!' agreed another frustrated audience member.
Although most women suffer from morning sickness, and it's a well-known condition of the early stages of pregnancy, 1 in 100 women are affected by Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). Symptoms include severe nausea and vomiting, dehydration, headaches and low blood pressure, and it can be excruciatingly painful.
The Duchess of Cambridge has suffered with HG through both her pregnancies with Prince George and Princess Charlotte so far. After announcing that Kate was expecting her third child earlier this week, it was also revealed that the Duchess was once again suffering from HG, leaving her unable to fulfil official engagements this week and forcing her to miss Prince George's first day of school that she was thought to be desperate to be a part of.
HG is a routinely unrecognised condition, with many only discovering it because of the press attention given to the Duchess of Cambridge and her pregnancy.
In extreme cases, some mothers even choose to terminate their pregnancy because of the condition.
TV presenter Sarah Jane Honeywell, who recently announced that she's expecting her second child, also took to Twitter after the show to share her experience of the debilitating condition.
'HG is so much more than morning sickness I ended up on a drip with collapsed veins' she wrote, whilst Channel 4 favourite Kirstie Allsopp also added her support, describing HG as 'a vile condition.'
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