Scientists Identify Cause of Morning Sickness, Potentially Ending Misery for Many [View all]

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.

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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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