Written By: Prerna Mittra | Updated : December 15, 2023 12:01 PM IST
Among the many pregnancy-related discomforts that women face is morning sickness. In some cases, it can be severe. But, scientists have finally discovered the cause of nausea and vomiting that are associated with morning sickness and mostly seen in the first trimester of pregnancy. According to them, there is a specific hormone that may be triggering it in the most severe cases.
Published in the journal Nature, the study found that the hormone GDF15 is the culprit. According to the University of Cambridge, GDF15 is made at "low levels in all tissues outside of pregnancy". But, how sensitive the mother is to the hormone during pregnancy is influenced by how much of it she was exposed to it prior to getting pregnant. Women with "normally-low levels of GDF15 in blood have a higher risk of developing severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy".
"We confirmed that higher GDF15 levels in maternal blood are associated with vomiting in pregnancy and HG," the study said. Study co-author Stephen O'Rahilly, a metabolism researcher at the University of Cambridge, UK, was quoted as telling Nature.com, "We now have a clear view of what may cause this problem and a route for both treatment and prevention."
According to Mayo Clinic, morning sickness is feeling like throwing-up, also called nausea and vomiting that occurs during pregnancy. Morning sickness, despite its name, can happen at any time of the day or night. Many people suffer from it during the first three months of pregnancy, but for others, morning sickness can happen throughout pregnancy.
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Sometimes, morning sickness can also turn into hyperemesis gravidarum, wherein the nausea and vomiting can cause "serious fluid loss or loss of more than 5 per cent of pre-pregnancy body weight". It might require going to a hospital for treatment.
Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, famously struggled with hyperemesis gravidarum during her three pregnancies, and it made news when she had to even cancel her planned appearances and get hospitalised.
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