Pregnant women suffering from severe morning sickness are being ‘waved away’ by doctors and told their symptoms are ‘normal and harmless’ – when they could be life-threatening, a top expert has warned.
Up to three percent of women suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a debilitating form of illness during pregnancy.
The Princess of Wales famously suffered from it and the life-threatening condition can cause illness dozens of times a day, with some women eventually being hospitalized with severe dehydration.
Geneticist Marlena Fejzo, from the University of Southern California, suffered from HG when she was pregnant and now wants to debunk the myths about morning sickness.
She said pregnant women with this condition are essentially “starving” because they are unable to eat or keep food down.
The Princess of Wales, pictured with her first child, Prince George, was hospitalized during her pregnancies due to hyperemesis gravidarum
Pregnant women with the condition essentially suffer from starvation as they are unable to eat or keep food down.
Comedian Amy Schumer, 42, and Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan, 33, also suffered from severe morning sickness during their pregnancy.
More and more research shows that this can have serious long- and short-term consequences for both mother and child.
A quarter of women with IPV have suicidal thoughts due to the debilitating symptoms, while 18 percent meet full criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, they are often dismissed by their medical teams and families.
In an opinion article published in the journal Cell Press, she wrote: ‘Nausea and vomiting affect most pregnant women.
‘At the severe end of the clinical spectrum, HG can be life-threatening. The condition is fraught with misconceptions that have slowed progress and left women untreated.
‘It is baffling that the emphasis on appropriate nutrition during pregnancies for the overall health of mother and baby has historically been overlooked in the case of IPV.
‘Patients are often discharged from hospital at a lower weight than when admitted. The condition is associated with significant malnutrition, and patients generally cannot tolerate prenatal supplements.”
She added that recent large studies show that exposure to IPV has been linked to a child being at higher risk for abnormal brain growth, neurodevelopmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, childhood cancer and breathing disorders.
“A lot of people are waved away and said, ‘Oh, that’s normal, it’s OK,'” she said.
‘IPV can be life-threatening and is associated with adverse consequences that should be taken seriously.’
A recent study conducted by Dr. Fejzo and colleagues found that the hormone responsible for this severe morning sickness is called GDF15. This debunks another myth that suggested another hormone was to blame.
Individuals suffering from HG may have genetic variants that cause them to have lower levels of GDF15 before pregnancy, making them extra sensitive if they become pregnant and are suddenly exposed to high levels.
This finding is important because preliminary research suggests it may be safe to manipulate this hormone during or even before pregnancy, Dr. Fejzo said.
“If we can increase the levels of GDF15 before someone becomes pregnant, that could desensitize them, similar to how we try to desensitize people to allergens who have severe allergies,” she said.
“And during pregnancy, we may be able to minimize or eliminate symptoms by blocking GDF15 or its receptors in the brainstem.”
The final myth she wants to debunk is that only humans experience morning sickness, as these symptoms have been observed across the animal kingdom – from monkeys, dogs and cats to chickens, vipers and octopuses.
“I always find it interesting that the recommendation for cats is that if they can’t eat for a day, you should contact your vet, but we don’t have that recommendation for women with HG,” she said.
‘If you call the doctor and say you haven’t eaten in a day, they say, ‘that’s normal’ and do nothing. There is more proactive care for cats than for people.’
She believes pregnancy-induced nausea likely evolved to prevent dangerous foraging trips.
“This condition likely arose because it was probably beneficial not to forage for food during pregnancy,” she added.
“That may still be true for animals, but humans don’t need this anymore, so let’s end suffering once and for all if we can.”