My relationship with CBD began in sheer survival mode. In 2017, my husband and I chose to have a second child, even though I already knew what hyperemesis gravidarum could do to my body from my first pregnancy. I expected it to be hard, but I didn’t expect it to be worse than the first time.

For the first twelve weeks of my second pregnancy, nothing stayed down, not water, not food, not even ice chips. My body was shutting down, and the stress on the baby was just as severe. The situation got so bad that my doctor recommended ending the pregnancy because they didn’t believe either of us would make it through. Indiana didn’t have access to abortion care, so they told me I’d have to start calling neighboring states myself. It was a level of hopelessness I can still feel in my bones.

While all of this was unfolding, my mom showed up with something I had never heard of: CBD oil. At that point, I had tried everything, every pharmaceutical option, every essential oil, every supplement, every trick anyone suggested. I was exhausted, and my mind didn’t want another failed attempt, but my authority said yes, so I took it anyway.

Within twelve hours, I ate and drank for the first time in three months. It was truly a miracle, and it saved myself and my child.

That moment was the turning point. By taking CBD three times a day, I was able to keep food and fluids down consistently enough to stabilize. It gave my body enough support to hang on, keep going, and six months later, I gave birth to a healthy baby.

CBD wasn’t a trend or wellness buzzword for me. It was the thing that kept my body from collapsing during one of the hardest battles of my life, which is why I take the endocannabinoid system seriously. It showed me, in the most direct way possible, what can happen when the body finally receives the cannabinoids it’s been starving for.

Read more about CBD & the endocannabinoid system here.