A New Cure for Morning Sickness & Hyperemesis Gravidarum
You can’t talk about pregnancy without talking about morning sickness. It’s one of those trademark pregnancy symptoms that our community reaches out to us about all the time, asking for tips and advice. For years no one really knew what caused it or how to effectively prevent it… until now. Just this week a breakthrough study that identified the cause of morning sickness made headlines, and these findings could lead to relief for millions of women around the world.
Read more below to learn about the breakthrough findings as well as our community’s most asked questions related to morning sickness.
The impact of morning sickness
On a recent poll of our audience, 70% of women said that they experienced morning sickness during pregnancy, and research shows it may impact as much as 80% of all pregnancies. Beyond that, up to 3% of women will face a severe and potentially life-threatening form known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). This extreme form of morning sickness, characterized by extreme nausea and vomiting, can lead to dehydration, weight loss, and other complications, making it a debilitating and potentially life-threatening condition for those who experience it.
A breakthrough in understanding and potential treatments
The groundbreaking findings from the University of Cambridge center around a hormone called GDF15. This hormone, produced by the fetal part of the placenta and released into the mother's bloodstream, plays a crucial role in the severity of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. This hormone rises very rapidly in the first trimester, and then continues to increase more gradually all the way through to the third trimester. The research out of Cambridge indicates a direct correlation between the blood serum levels of GDF15 and the severity of the mother’s nausea. But, there are other factors that influence how debilitating morning sickness is to a particular person.
Why is morning sickness different for everyone?
Like so many things during pregnancy, your experience will be unique to you. And the same goes for morning sickness! The latest research on GDF15 explains why that difference can happen.
The hormone in question — GDF15 — isn’t just produced by the placenta during pregnancy. We all have low levels of this hormone in our body, even when not pregnant. Researchers have found that a woman’s sensitivity to morning sickness is moderated by her GDF15 exposure prior to pregnancy.
Basically, women with low levels of GDF15 are more likely to experience nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (in response to the sudden spike in this hormone). They are also more likely to experience it’s more severe counterpart, hyperemesis gravidarum. In fact, the study identified a rare genetic variant associated with a higher risk of HG and linked to lower levels of GDF15 prior to pregnancy.
On the other hand, women who have naturally higher levels of GDF15 in their bloodstream before pregnancy are less likely to experience morning sickness, or have milder symptoms of nausea and vomiting overall. There’s actually a blood disorder called beta thalassemia that casues naturally high levels of GDF15, and women with this blood disorder experienced little to no morning sickness.
These nuanced findings hint at a potential avenue for targeted treatments for women at risk of more severe forms of morning sickness.
Potential treatments on the horizon
While a cure doesn’t exist yet, the identification of GDF15 as a key player in morning sickness opens the door to new treatment possibilities. These are still early days, but researchers are already exploring whether medications could alleviate morning sickness by directly addressing the GDF15 hormone, its receptors in the mother's brain, or through pre-exposure to GDF15 before pregnancy for those at high risk of hyperemesis gravidarum.
However, it's crucial to note that further rigorous testing is needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of these potential treatments. Until then, existing treatments for morning sickness, such as dietary changes, acupressure, and medications like vitamin B6 and doxylamine, remain available options, and it’s best to discuss this directly with your doctor.
Top Community Questions on Morning Sickness
How do I know if I have morning sickness or hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)?
Morning sickness may be one of the first symptoms you notice in pregnancy. Nausea and vomiting may peak at certain times, but overall, you shouldn’t feel sick 24/7 and you should be able to keep down most food and water and go about your daily activities.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is similar to morning sickness except much more severe and can cause electrolyte and nutrient imbalances, which could pose risks for you and your baby if left untreated. It’s much less common, with around 3 in 100 people experiencing it, however not every person reports their symptoms and may not receive adequate treatment. If you find yourself vomiting more than a few times a day with bile or blood, can’t keep food and water down for 24 hours, and are losing around 1-2 lbs (0.45-0.9 kg) in a week, talk to your doctor immediately as it could be HG.
What can increase your risk factor for hyperemesis gravidarum
The new findings related to GDF15 indicate risk factors related to low blood serum levels of this hormone prior to birth. Here are some additional, and potentially related, risk factors that may increase the chance of developing HG:
You are pregnant with multiples.
Family history of HG or severe morning sickness.
Previous pregnancy with HG. If you had severe morning sickness in your previous pregnancy, you may be more likely to develop it again. That said, just because you experienced HG in one pregnancy does not mean you will experience it with every pregnancy.
Having a baby girl. Research suggests that people carrying girls may be at a higher risk for HG due to hormone influences in the body.
Is it bad if I don’t have nausea or morning sickness?
Morning sickness is often seen as a sign of a healthy pregnancy, indicating that your hormones and the placenta are working properly. But that does not mean a lack of morning sickness is a sign of an unhealthy pregnancy. We know this can trigger worry though!
Based on the new findings related to GDF15, not having morning sickness does not appear to be linked poor outcomes. It just seems correlated to previous exposure to GDF15 that mitigates a nauseating response to the presence of this hormone. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones if this is you!
Of course, if you are concerned about any symptoms (or lack thereof) during pregnancy, please be sure to bring them up with your doctor.
Will nausea subside by the second trimester?
This has long been the message doled out to pregnant women in the throes of first trimester morning sickness, giving them hope that it will get better. So will it? Honestly, it’s hard to say.
The GDF15 hormone produced in the placenta rises sharply in the first trimester, and researchers speculate this sharp incline may be related to the high prevalence of morning sickness symptoms reported at this early stage. However, GDF15 levels increase throughout pregnancy and actually won’t peak until the third trimester.
Anecdotally, most women find relief before or within the second trimester, and about 85% of our audience said they did, too. Is this because their bodies got used to the GDF15 levels? More research is still needed in this space. It is possible to experience morning sickenss throughout your entire pregnancy, as studies show that about 10% of women have nausea until they give birth.
Unfortunately, if you do have HG it is generally experienced throughout the entirety of pregnancy and some people are bothered by it on a constant basis, which is why this condition needs treatment. And it’s also why this new research related to GDF15 is so promising to help women thrive during this stage.
What can I do at home to relieve morning sickness?
When it comes to HG, if you are unable to keep food and water down, medical treatment is often necessary to make sure you and your baby get the nutrients you need. Treatments related to GDF15 aren’t available yet, but the hope is they will be soon.
If you’re dealing with a less severe form of morning sickness, we have a few tips that can help you curb the severity of the symptoms and make it through the day:
Drink water, especially before and after meals. Dehydration can be one of the biggest complications of morning sickness and HG during pregnancy, so make sure you’re drinking water as often as you can. Drinking some before and after eating might also help dilute any stomach acid that could cause some upset.
Switch up your eating habits. Eating small meals more frequently and avoiding fatty and spicy foods might help ease any sensitivity your digestive system is having. Dry foods like crackers are a common suggestion, but if those aren’t working for you, you can try other bland options like baked potatoes, applesauce, broths, bananas, and rice.
Continue exercising if you feel comfortable. Exercise releases all those feel-good endorphins and research shows aerobic exercise and prenatal yoga could help curb some nausea too. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our yoga flows for the first trimester in the Baby2Body app.
Eat foods that combat nausea, like ginger! We’re all about using nutrition to your advantage, and you can check out our favorite nausea-fighting foods here, and ways to use ginger here!
Try pressure point wristbands. These bands put a small amount of pressure on the P6 point, which is a spot on the inner wrist that may interrupt nausea signals. Studies have shown them to be effective at lessening the severity and frequency of morning sickness during pregnancy, just be sure to check with your doctor that they’re safe to use for your situation.
Sometimes medications like antihistamines, antacids, or vitamin B-6 supplements can help relieve intense symptoms depending on your situation, but you should talk to your doctor or midwife before taking any new supplements or medications. Be open with your healthcare professional and let them know exactly what symptoms you’ve been experiencing and how often, so they can make sure everything is OK, and make recommendations for help managing it.
How can I support a friend with severe morning sickness
When our audience sent in their questions on nausea during pregnancy, we were touched to see this asked more than once. So many of you are looking out for your loved ones and want to know how to best support them during this difficult time. Here are some tips from people who have experienced severe morning sickness:
Educate yourself! One of the best things loved ones of pregnant people can do is get factual information about HG and understand more about what the other person is going through.
Be patient. If you notice the last few texts to your friend have gone unanswered, just remember they may be trying to deal with their sickness and might not be in the best place to check their phones.
Don’t be afraid to reach out and offer support. Ask them about foods you can bring, errands you can run, or other things you can do to help take the stress of life off their plate. Sometimes, doing those small and simple favors unprompted (like dropping off a chicken soup) might be just what they need.
Try to avoid giving out advice unless asked. Often times our suggestions are coming from a good place, but can make pregnant people feel exhausted when they hear the phrase, “have you tried…” again and again. Many times people just want a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, and a heart to empathize with them.
Want more ideas on how to support loved ones with morning sickness? Check out more tips and advice at Pregnancy Sickness Support, as they’re putting out fantastic resources.
To everyone currently battling morning sickness, or those that have been there before, we have three things we want you to take away from this: 1) you are not alone, 2) this will pass, and 3) morning sickness can be debilitating but you do not have to suffer through it on your own.
What helped you cope with severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy? Let us know your tips and tricks in the comments below!
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