A new study suggests that the stomach-turning nausea and vomiting of morning sickness is triggered by a surge of a hormone made by fetuses.
In the early stages of pregnancy, up to 80 percent of pregnant people experience nausea, and about half of them vomit, which is often referred to as morning sickness (although this term is misleading). A small percentage, up to 3 percent, of pregnant people will develop hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe and frequent vomiting that can lead to weight loss, dehydration, and even hospitalization and death of the fetus or mother.
Previously, researchers believed that morning sickness is caused by elevated levels of estrogen or other hormones early in pregnancy. However, gynecologist and obstetrician Jone Trovik, who was not involved in the study, explains that studies have also implicated elevated thyroid hormone, infections, and other causes for severe sickness. Trovik emphasizes that it has been widely refuted that morning sickness has a psychological cause, and women have been wrongly told that their symptoms are due to not wanting the pregnancy or being angry with their husband.
2024-01-03 09:00:00
Article from www.sciencenews.org