Scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding the cause of extreme nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum.<\/p>\n

This condition, which affected the late Princess Diana and more recently the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, is believed to be caused by a hormone produced by the developing fetus.<\/p>\n

Hyperemesis Gravidarum affects approximately 3% of pregnancies and can have debilitating effects on expectant mothers.<\/p>\n

Previously, the cause of this condition was unknown.<\/p>\n

However, a recent study conducted by Cambridge University has identified a hormone called GDF-15, produced by the fetus, as a potential culprit.<\/p>\n

The severity of the symptoms experienced by pregnant women depends on the levels of this hormone and their exposure to it prior to conception.<\/p>\n

Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, Director of the University’s Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit, explained that the more sensitive a woman is to this hormone, the more severe her symptoms will be.<\/p>\n

This discovery provides hope for finding ways to prevent and treat Hyperemesis Gravidarum.<\/p>\n

The research also revealed that women with naturally low levels of GDF-15 in their blood were more likely to suffer from this condition.<\/p>\n

GDF-15 is a highly sensitive hormone that can trigger hyperemesis gravidarum.<\/p>\n

These findings suggest that women at risk, including those with a genetic predisposition, could be gradually exposed to the hormone to build up tolerance before becoming pregnant.<\/p>\n

Tests conducted on mice supported this theory.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the journal Nature, involved researchers from Cambridge University, Scotland, the United States, and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Dr. Marlena Fejtoe from the University of Southern California, who herself experienced hyperemesis gravidarum, expressed her hope that this breakthrough will lead to effective treatments for pregnant women suffering from this condition.<\/p>\n

She emphasized the lack of knowledge surrounding hyperemesis gravidarum despite its prevalence among pregnant women.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Howden, a woman who suffered from severe symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum, considered terminating her pregnancy due to the debilitating effects.<\/p>\n

She experienced frequent vomiting, an inability to keep food or fluids down, and excessive saliva production.<\/p>\n

After being admitted to the hospital multiple times for dehydration, her consultant prescribed a new medication that finally relieved her symptoms.<\/p>\n

Charlotte is now the CEO of Pregnancy Sickness Support, a charity dedicated to advocating for better care for pregnant women.<\/p>\n

The discovery of the role played by the GDF-15 hormone in hyperemesis gravidarum brings hope to millions of expectant mothers who suffer from this condition.<\/p>\n

With further research and understanding, effective treatments can be developed to alleviate the symptoms and improve the quality of life for pregnant women experiencing extreme nausea and vomiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding the cause of extreme nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum. This condition, which affected the late Princess Diana and more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royal-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16411,"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16410\/revisions\/16411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.airglee.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}