Inside MAFS’s Martha Kalifatidis pregnancy journey
The growing bub's due date has moved from Feb to March - not what a mum suffering hyperemesis gravidarum wants to hear...
By Elizabeth Gracie
After announcing her surprise pregnancy in September 2022, Martha Kalifatidis and partner Michael Brunelli have had anything but an easy time as they prepare for parenthood.
The loved up couple discovered the happy news during their trip to Rome, Italy earlier in the year, but their happiness was short lived as Martha was soon diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, a rare pregnancy condition that affects about two per cent of pregnant women and causes extreme morning sickness including severe nausea and vomiting.
Martha and Michael have shared a sweet video of the pregnancy that includes a stylish way to share the gender of their unborn child, weeks after learning that the due date has been pushed from February into March – not what a mum with severe morning sickness wants to hear…
Watch the beautiful gender reveal video above…
The gorgeous videos shows Michael giving Martha a jewellery box and at the end of the video you see the stunning ring in… blue…
“Oh boy do we have news…” the expectant mum captioned her Instagram post.
After dramatically scaling back their social media presence, the couple finally returned to Instagram after a lengthy absence, revealing to fans the ”hell” of the last few months.
”It’s been a minute since we’ve been online, so we wanted to explain our situation and make a little bit of an announcement, and that is that Martha is pregnant,” Michael began.
Martha continued: ”I don’t want to sound like I am complaining, we are so excited, we are so happy. It was a complete surprise,” she explained.
”But at five weeks I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, which is basically severe chronic nausea and vomiting with no relief. It is like 24/7.
Bubs is due in February 2023.
The reality TV star’s condition got so bad that she was constantly in and out of hospital, shedding a whopping 10 kilos in just five weeks as she tried to manage the condition.
”I literally did not get out of bed for two months; I was so sick. I could not eat or drink anything. There were days that I did not even get up to pee,” Martha continued.
”I feel really bad because I don’t really know how to navigate this and talk about this because I feel like there’s women who have the best time when they’re pregnant.
”Then there’s people who struggle so hard, and they will do anything to be pregnant,” she admitted.
Fortunately, at the four-month mark of her pregnancy (which lined up with her return to social media in September), Martha said she was lucky enough to find a doctor that was able to prescribe medication that has her feeling ”human again”.
”I’ve just started some new medication, and it’s been amazing. It’s like the only thing that has helped me,” she said at the time.
The first four months of pregnancy proved rough for Martha as she battled a rare pregnancy condition that saw her in and out of hospital and stuck in her bed.
Following months of heartache, Michael also revealed to his followers that just before they found out the baby news, he’d been out for dinner with friends in Istanbul, Turkey, and got a very fitting fortune cookie.
”A new baby is coming into your family,” it read.
Michael shared a sweet Instagram tribute to his fiance Martha, explaining just how ”proud” he was of how strong she had been whilst pregnant.
One day after confirming their pregnancy news, Michael shared a picture of himself and Martha in bed together.
In the caption, he explained how proud he was of her and the sickness she’d gone through.
“The past few months have been tough,” he said.
“I watched Martha go from enjoying a holiday, to nervously celebrating a new stage in our life, to moaning in pain for hours and days on end.
“She has spent best part of the last 10 weeks in bed 24 hours a day, dehydrated, nauseous, vomiting, restless, tired, anxious, fatigued and unable to properly sleep or eat. Multiple hospital visits, medications and medical opinions and still suffering through. But she is a f–king warrior! And so is every other woman that is diagnosed with HG or any pregnancy related condition.
“I can’t begin to imagine what it’s felt like for her, and while I’ve tried to help as much as I can, at times I’ve just felt completely helpless.”
In a cheeky snap, Michael shared an image of the now heavily pregnant Martha who looks like she is about to pop at just six months along.
A few months down the track in October, Martha revealed that she was finally able to step outside of the house now that she wasn’t ”horizontal 24/7” from morning sickness, attending both the Melbourne Cup and at a Gucci event in Sydney.
In late November, Michael also told Now to Love exclusively that the couple were preparing for parenthood as best they could, seeking advice from their families.
”Martha has a niece and I have two baby nephews, so we are just picking the brains of our family.
”There has been a lot of advice online that we are trying to take on board as well. But at the end of the day, and what we have been told by everyone out there, is that we will learn so much when the baby comes. You can read all you want but the moment the baby is born everything will be thrown out the window.
”It’ll be a crazy new world for us in 2023”.
This was Martha’s first baby bump update at the four month mark.
Michael also confirmed to Now to Love that he was working on incorporating a pregnancy and postpartum program into his fitness company TruFit.
”Whether or not this will be filmed with Martha is yet to be decided, depending on how she is feeling but we shall see.”
This article first appeared on Now To Love and has been republished with permission.
