Trustees of Pregnancy Sickness Support
The Board of Trustees have varied backgrounds, and all contribute their unique assets and skills to the running of the charity. If you wish to enquire about becoming a trustee then please fill out the enquiry form at the bottom of the page and someone will be in touch with you in due course.
In addition to the Trustees we have a board of medical professionals who assist with research and advise on medical and treatment issues
Dr Caitlin Dean (Chair) is a Registered General Nurse specialising in hyperemesis gravidarum. She has suffered three times with hyperemesis gravidarum with her 2 boys and 1 daughter, and has undertaken a PhD in Amsterdam to further the research efforts for HG. In addition to her research Caitlin spends her time providing education for healthcare professionals and writing extensively for both the medical and lay press and writes the popular Spewing Mummy blog. Her work for PSS led to the 2015 Third Sector Award for Charity Chair Person of the Year and a Nursing Times Award for Inspirational Nurse Leader. Her savvy media strategy has ensured that hyperemesis gravidarum has has a consistent and powerful presence in the UK media over the last ten years.
Dr Roger Gadsby (Founding Trustee and Treasurer) who has just retired as a GP in Nuneaton and now works for five sessions a week as an Associate Clinical Professor at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick. He has had an interest in pregnancy sickness symptoms since he joined the same practice as Dr Tony Barnie-Adshead in 1979. Together they have carried out research and published papers and articles on pregnancy sickness symptoms. Roger was awarded an MBE in 2009.
Ms Caroline Pratt (Founding Trustee and Secretary) is the daughter of Dr Tony Barnie-Adshead. She suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum (severe pregnancy sickness) and was lucky to benefit from the knowledge of her father. She says "It is difficult for people who don't suffer to understand how unpleasant it can be. I think that the work of this charity is important as it is providing support and information for sufferers and carers".
Dr Margaret O'Hara has a background in physics teaching and medical physics research. She is currently the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement in Research Lead for University Hospital Birmingham based at the Institute of Translational Medicine. Having observed several relatives suffer with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, she conducted her own research on treatment protocols before becoming pregnant and found a clinician who prescribed antiemetics as soon as her HG started. After her pregnancy with her daughter, in 2010 she set up the website www.pregnancysicknesssos.co.uk to disseminate the information that she had gathered and to assist other women to obtain treatment. Using the website, she has conducted surveys of women's experiences of HG in the UK. She has been a volunteer for PSS since 2011 and is a co-author on the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists clinical practice guidelines for Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy and Hyperemesis Gravidarum.
Dr Shazia Zafar (Vice Chair) is a research scientist working at the University of Birmingham in the area of applied health research. Her current research includes mixed method investigations using both qualitative and quantitative methods on topics directly affecting the public (abuse & violence, mental health, end of life care). Hyperemesis Gravidarum research consists of 1) investigating the language used by health professionals and patients in doctor-patient / health professional-patient relationships and also 2) investigating how HG affects women in their work places. She came across PSS only after having suffered severely from hyperemesis herself twice. She also chaired a committee for a different organisation which led to projects such as creating laboratories for the public. More recently in her Women in Science role, has been the creation of science sessions at Botanical Gardens which were aimed at visiting schools and public but especially for engaging girls in science. The science sessions included practical experiments and resulted in reaching out to home-schooled children (before the pandemic and lockdown) who had no access to taught science experiments. After finding out about the wonderful work the charity does to support women she went on to become a volunteer for PSS in order to help and pass on her knowledge and strong scientific experience.
Ms Bethan Harvey
Bethan is an occupational therapist by background and has worked with children, adults and older people during her career, both in the NHS and Social Care. She has worked in social care operational management, commissioning, strategic programme management and leading digital, data and technology projects, so has a wide-ranging experience in leadership and large-scale change and transformation in the health and care sector.
Bethan had debilitating hypermesis gravidarum during her pregnancy in 2020/2021, an experience which was complicated by the context of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns. Bethan's access to support and treatment was hindered by being unable to see her GP face-to-face, and when screen time became a huge trigger for her nausea and sickness, she could not work for several months. Bethan is therefore really passionate about maximising awareness and accessibility of HG support for women, not just during pregnancy, but also postnatally and on return to work.
Bethan is based in Norfolk, UK where she lives with her son in the beautiful countryside and enjoys walking, geocaching, and camper van adventures.
Ms Kirsty Wright
Following on from the success of the ICHG conference in 2022, Kirsty was employed as the International Project Manager for the global hyperemises gravidarum network of researchers and charities. Kirsty remains passionate about the care and treatment in the UK and has joined the board to continually support Pregnancy Sickness Support's endeavours and provide insight as a former employee. She has seen the development of the charity over recent years and is a keen champion of the services we offer.
