Is Morning Sickness Actually Preventable?

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, better known as morning sickness, affects roughly 7 in 10 pregnant people. Scientists have spent decades hunting for the primary cause, and they seem to have finally found it: a hormone called GDF15.

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[maymorning]

Pregnancy is profoundly bizarre. When I was expecting my daughter, I had the weirdest food aversions including rigatoni, the pasta shape. Any other pasta was fine! Penne was fine! But looking at or thinking about rigatoni made me gag. Why!! Bewildering.

[RebeccaWalker-rx]

I'm 25 weeks pregnant working in healthcare, and I have been voicing my frustration about there not being enough research in this area. I'm thankful to be able to eat my words and hope for more improvements in managing/understanding NVP! It has sincerely been the hardest part of pregnancy for me. And it keeps making a comeback in this second trimester 😅

[Apostrophe]

I’m an HG survivor and I can’t believe the timing of this video coming out on my 1 year anniversary. The number of women affected is probably much higher, maybe 8%, but doctors have VERY rigid metrics they want you to meet and are slow to diagnose. Unfortunately, the discovery of GDF-15 as the lead cause is so recent that most doctors have never heard of it. Basically HG is generally a genetic (possibly autoimmune) issue where you don’t make a lot of GDF-15 to begin with and placental/fetal tissue causes your levels to skyrocket many times more than a usual pregnancy and possibly for the entire gestation. This is affected by the mother’s genes, but the fetus’s as well. GDF-15 is a primitive distress hormone that everyone’s body makes during injury or illness. According to one documentary about the condition, in studies, the level of GDF-15 in women who had been hospitalized compared to people dying of cancer…was FIVE TIMES HIGHER. It was a physical and psychological experience akin to actual torture and I cannot believe more people have never heard of this condition.

[Brenda-onhy]

I suffered H G . My"doctor" asked if I was happy in my marriage. Told me H G meant I was emotionally rejecting the pregnancy. This was in 1976.
Would love to go say nyah nah nah. Science says you were wrong.

[lizbug]

The medication may be safe, but it really is not always effective. I had HG and had to go to the hospital 3 times a week in the beginning for IV therapy because of the horrible American insurance institutions. ANY STUDIES on pregnancy or women in general is SO needed

[beans]

I lost 40lbs with HG and had a hysterectomy as soon as I was legally able. My sister and niece also suffered severely with HG, to the point they almost died. I'm so glad this is being researched. I wonder if the study used my genetic information.

[PLuMUK]

A former colleague had HG during her pregnancy. A lot of other members of staff, especially other women, kept saying, "Oh, it's only morning sickness." Working closely with my colleague, I could see how bad it was. One day, as I was going upstairs, she appeared at the top. Thankfully, I could see that she was extremely unwell, and, just as she was about to topple down the stairs, I caught her. We had a lovely boss who was very understanding. My colleague was taken home and told to take off as much time as she needed. She spent the next 5½ months at home before her baby was born. Not a day went by without her having to stop in bed for hours. I am glad that this condition is being investigated. There are enough problems with pregnancy without this.

[amyskyhigh]

Suffered with HG and the ptsd is mental, i have one child and it almost killed me. This video made me cry so much, thank you for making it.

[meals]

HG survivor here, both pregnancies. The first was worse. F you GDF15 and my gene mutation. It literally felt like I had a parasite that was body needed to get rid of. The worst hang over or gastrointestinal infection. For 9 months. The psychological damage of feeling this sick for so long. And the second time round with a toddler. More research, validation and support to people who experience this is so needed.

[pRODIGAL_sKEPTIC]

My wife had HG the whole 9 months, including a scary hospital stay.. I wish politicians cared what pregnant folks go through

[amyjones]

I had HG to the point I was passing out in the street and lost three stone during my pregnancy. Each doctor I saw said I was either putting it on for attention or that I had bulimia. Eventually, I was hospitalized and a nurse shouted at a doctor until he took me seriously. I was finally allowed a drip, anti-sickness medication and treated almost like a human being. It was an absolutely terrifying time and quite a horrible experience to be so vulnerable and have such a reaction from the people who are supposed to help. This was 2008 in the UK.

[annyjones]

As someone who had HG I thank future researcher for this!!!
My medication did work reasonably well but I couldn't eat normal portions of anything for 9 months. Literally! My toddler niece ate more than me 😅

[Jaecinth]

Some of us lost a child because of HG. It was 20 years ago and still not one day goes by I don't wish my body had been stronger.

[TheKrispyfort]

Pain in women isn't taken seriously, so why would anyone be surprised that NVP nor HG aren't taken seriously either.
There's more research into male-pattern baldness it seems than ensuring the people who grow the new people are able to function during the new people making process.

[eliscanfield]

I _still_ can't handle chicken soup, ironically, because it so consistently made me sick throughout both my pregnancies

[corvidsRcool]

At 5:58 I gasped because when I was in college in the 80s, my roommate was a animal sciences (pre-vet) major. She told me that morning sickness was because the body viewed the embryo as a parasite and was trying to get rid of it. I wasn't sure I believed that, so I just kind of forgot about it.

[katyluvsmath]

I once had a nurse tell me I couldn’t see the doc because it was too early in my pregnancy and it must just be morning sickness. She asked me to count how many times I threw up the next day and then call her back at the end of the day. I called at 10am, said “I already threw up 10 times today, I’m not counting any more.” With the help of IV fluids (sometimes daily), good doctors (who told me this was like having cancer), and good meds, I am a survivor of 4 HG pregnancies, each one worse than the last. It’s so incredibly encouraging to see more research in this area!

[bryanholcomb]

My ex suffered from HG with both our kids. With my youngest, I almost lost them both due to an infected PICC line, necessary because she couldn't take ANYTHING by mouth. Anything to prevent ANYONE from having to suffer this is awesome!

[nepnep]

2:35 Small correction, hCG is a protein, but not all hormones are proteins (e.g., cholesterol-derived hormones are not).

[nancyomalley]

On Bajor (in Star Trek DS9), morning sickness for Bajorans is sneezing all the time

I'd take that over throwing up anytime!