Up to 7 out of every 10 pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting. In some women (one to three pregnancies out of every 100), these symptoms can be very severe.
It is called vomiting gravidarum, and it is the most common cause of hospitalization for women during the first three months of pregnancy.
Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, Heir to the British Crown, suffered from these problems during her three pregnancies.
According to the results of a study recently published in the journal Nature, in which scientists from the University of Cambridge and researchers from Scotland, the United States, and Sri Lanka participated, these health problems, whether severe or not, are due to a hormone secreted by the fetus, a protein known as GDF15. According to what Agence France-Presse reported.
To achieve this result, the researchers studied data from women who were included in a number of studies, and used a range of methods that include measurements of hormones in the blood of pregnant women, studies on cells and mice, and so on.
The researchers showed that the degree of nausea and vomiting that a woman suffers from during pregnancy is directly related to the amount of the GDF15 hormone produced by the fetal part of the placenta and sent into the bloodstream, and also to sensitivity to the effect of this hormone.
The team discovered that some women have a much higher genetic risk of developing hyperemesis gravidarum, which is associated with low hormone levels in the blood and tissues outside of pregnancy.
Likewise, women with a genetic blood disorder known as beta thalassemia, which allows them to have very high levels of GDF15 naturally before pregnancy, experience mild to no symptoms of nausea or vomiting or none of these symptoms at all. Launch.
Professor Stephen O’Reilly, co-director of the Wellcome Medical Research Institute for Metabolic Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and co-author of the study, said: “The baby growing in the womb produces a hormone at levels to which the mother is not accustomed. The more sensitive she is to this hormone, the more health problems she will suffer.” , according to Agence France-Presse.
“Knowing this gives us an idea of how to prevent this from happening,” he added.
Study co-researcher Marlena Viso of the University of Southern California, whose team previously identified a genetic link between GDF15 and hyperemesis gravidarum, suffered from this condition herself. “When I was pregnant, I could barely move without feeling nauseous,” she says. She added, “I hope that now that we understand the reason, we will be closer to developing effective treatments,” according to the French agency.
2023-12-19 07:57:41
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