Mom overcomes 'severe morning sickness' during pregnancy, sepsis, to become a bodybuilder
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A British mother who was unable to exercise during her pregnancy due to a severe vomiting condition and later while battling a sepsis infection is now a bodybuilder.
When 35-year-old Natasha Gilson was pregnant with her daughter, Anaïs, she soon developed hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss and dehydration. The condition, sometimes referred to as “extreme morning sickness,” can require hospitalization.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Natasha Gilson hospital and in fantastic shape as a bodybuilder. (SWNS)
The avid gymgoer was forced to cease all exercise due to the debilitating nausea and vomiting she experienced.
"Literally 72 hours after finding out I was pregnant the sickness started and it absolutely floored me,” Gilson told SWNS, a British news agency. “Every single day I was sick, multiple times. I was sick 40 times in one day."
"When I fell pregnant I thought I could still go to the gym a few times a week but I was just sick all the time,” she added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Natasha Gilson in hospital after her bout with sepsis. (SWNS)
Gilson also had trouble working, noting she was often on her “hands and knees being sick in the toilets” at her office.
"I couldn't believe how a baby could grow and survive in an environment where I could barely eat or drink without throwing up,” she said.
After giving birth to her daughter prematurely and via an emergency C-section, the mom told SWNS that she developed sepsis just days later and was placed in critical care.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Natasha Gilson in the gym. (SWNS)
“I felt like the life was draining out of my body,” she recalled. “I deteriorated so quickly.”
Following a two-week hospital stay, Gilson was released — but was advised to avoid any exercise for 12 weeks.
Eventually, Gilson decided to hire a personal trainer to work toward a bodybuilding event in Birmingham. When she auditioned, Gilson said she still had roughly 14 pounds to lose.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Natasha Gilson with her daughter Anaïs. (SWNS)
“Walking in was so nerve-wracking, all the girls had custom-made bikinis and I just had my Topshop bikini. I think if I lived around the corner, I would have [gone] home,” she told SWNS.
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Gilson claims she eventually went on to win the competition in May 2014 after “throwing herself” into training. She now owns a personal training company called Miss Motivator UK.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I want to inspire people to send a message that they can do anything if they want it enough and I want to be the best role model I can be for my daughter," she said.