Scientists Identify Cause of Morning Sickness, Potentially Ending Misery for Many

[question everything]

Pregnant and nauseous? Blame your baby.

A hormone that triggers nausea and vomiting is produced abundantly by the fetal portion of the placenta, a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature showed. Blocking the hormone could cure morning sickness, its authors said, and treating high-risk women before they get pregnant could spare them from severe illness.

Some 70% of pregnant women experience morning sickness and up to 3% of pregnant women in the U.S. suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe and persistent form of nausea and vomiting that in extreme cases can cause maternal and fetal death. It is the leading cause in the U.S. of hospitalizations during the first half of pregnancy. Catherine, Princess of Wales, comedian Amy Schumer and singer Kelly Clarkson have spoken of their struggles with the condition.

For the Nature study, researchers built on work exploring a link between a hormone called GDF15 and hyperemesis gravidarum. Most of us, pregnant or not, have GDF15, which is produced by cells and at high levels can cause nausea, vomiting and reduced appetite. Cells produce a lot of it when they undergo stress.

(snip)

The researchers uncovered genetic factors that could explain why some pregnant women develop severe nausea and vomiting, while others don’t. Genetic variants associated with lower pre-pregnancy levels of GDF15 significantly increased the risk of hyperemesis gravidarum, the study found, suggesting that people who weren’t used to high levels of the hormone were more sensitive to sudden increases during pregnancy.

The reverse was also true: People with the inherited blood disorder beta thalassemia, which caused higher-than-normal levels of GDF15 before pregnancy, experienced little or no nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. The findings suggest that women at higher risk of severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy could be desensitized to the hormone’s surges with pre-emptive treatments of GDF15, said Marlena Fejzo, a co-author and a geneticist at the University of Southern California.

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https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/morning-sickness-pregnancy-baby-hormone-4c709c85?st=8zo4urfvp8npyhj&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

[Warpy]

1. Morning sickness is a silly name for misery that goes on all day and into the night

and some unlucky women end up in the hospital for a prolonged period for IV nutrition and hydration.

They'd better find out what this hormone does for the developing fetus before they block it.

Pregnancy might be normal, but it can be extremely risky.

[Sympthsical]

2. It wouldn't be blocked for the fetus

That was my initial thought, too, but the article lays out that the problem is maternal underexposure to the hormone. Their proposed course of action isn't to block the hormone or alter anything chemically for the fetus, but to expose the mother to it enough pre-pregnancy to desensitize her and hopefully diminish its effects before her pregnancy starts manufacturing it.

[Warpy]

3. Great if it works

but this is the sort of thing that is many years in development, with trial after trial ending because of unanticipated consequences.