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Got Morning Sickness? Blame Your Mom
Filed under: Medical Conditions, In The News, Nutrition, Pregnancy Health
Even crackers won't help severe morning sickness, and a new study says it's in your genes. Credit: meddygarnet, Flickr
BBC News reports that a study by Norwegian researchers indicates that pregnant women are three times more likely to suffer from severe morning sickness if their mothers did, as well.
Hyperemesis gravidarum, or excessive nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, affects about 2 percent of all pregnant women, and can sometimes even require hospitalization. The Norwegian study, which looked at 2.3 million births, showed that women whose mothers had the condition are three times more likely to suffer from it, as well. The results could help women know their risk for the disease.
Hyperemesis is very different from typical morning sickness, which generally disappears after the first trimester. Instead, moms who suffer from it have excessive nausea that begins before the 22nd week of pregnancy and, in its most serious form, can lead to dangerous health conditions including dehydration and weight loss.
It's also the most common reason that pregnant women are admitted to the hospital early. Hyperemesis also takes the blame for some babies with low birth weights, and even premature birth. Researchers tell BBC News that previous studies asserted that the condition was caused by psychological issues.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, also revealed that mom and daughter may share lifestyle risk factors that contribute to the condition.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
5-03-2010 @ 8:50AM
Christine said...Total BS. I had HG when pregnant with my daughter but not with my son. And my mom never, ever had HG. So this basically this all boils down to more money wasted on a useless study.
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5-03-2010 @ 10:21AM
LollieBluCaliToo said...I agree, Christine. I was sick as all get out with all 3 of my pregnancies. My mom had none of that. Yes, a waste of taxpayer dollars AGAIN!!
5-03-2010 @ 11:51AM
Kathy said...My mom had morning sickness with all of her pregnancies, sometimes in the morning and sometimes at night---but I never had it!! I was pregnant twice and felt great all the way though--guess I was lucky--and my daughter never had it either--genetics--who lknows?? But a study can show what it wants to show--or nothing but BS!!
5-03-2010 @ 9:03AM
myrna said...Finally, a study to confirm what I went through with my pregnancies over 25 years ago...... I was SOOOO sick, could keep NOTHING down for many weeks. Some thought it was psychological, but it was just plain horrible and constant nausea from sun-up to sun-down and throughout the night. My doctor yelled at me for losing weight while pregnant. The deliveries went easily, and both pregnancies resulted in beautifully healthy babies, and now both are in their mid-twenties. I would go through it again in a heartbeat! But it was a rough time.
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5-03-2010 @ 9:09AM
nkflds said...Had HG with all three pregnancies, Lost 23 lbs. with the first one. All three were normal birth weights and my mother never had even one day of morning sickness in her four pregnancies.
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5-03-2010 @ 9:15AM
cathyhri said...I had minimal morning sickness with all three of my kids, my daughter was sick as a dog for 9 months with both of hers. Do you think this study was possibly flawed?
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5-03-2010 @ 10:46AM
J. Smith said...My mother was gravely ill with me and my grandmother before her. My mom had to be put on an IV. I lost 25lbs (I only started at 140 and am 5'9") with this baby and had to be put on an IV even taking very heavy anti-nausea drugs.
5-03-2010 @ 9:33AM
Jane said...Sorry, but this is not true. My mother never had morning sickness, I had it just a little bit, and my daughter was totally incapacitated by it. So that blows that theory. Actually, every pregnancy is different. With my one daughter I was hardly sick, and with the other one, I had a lot of heartburn. So there you go!
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5-06-2010 @ 8:58AM
erika said...my mom was sick as a dog when she was pregnant with me and i had very minimal nausea when i was pregnant so i dont believe this
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5-03-2010 @ 9:38AM
Jeanie said...I never felt better while pregnant!!! No morning sickness at all!!
My mother did have some morning sickness with at least some of us, not sure how severe though
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5-03-2010 @ 10:41AM
Lisa Frangoulis said...Simple way to get rid of moring sickness. Eat before you go to bed. The empty stomach causes the nausea. I had moring sickness with my first son, never again with my next (3) children. I have told many pregnant women that said they had morning sickness once they started eating something at night it never happened again. Note to LollieBlu, if you read it the study was done in Norway not our tax dollars on this one.
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5-03-2010 @ 10:48AM
J. Smith said...Obviously you never had HG. It's not as simple as "eat a cracker" or "keep your stomach from getting empty" when you can't even keep down water.
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5-04-2010 @ 2:11PM
Aliwat said...I agree with you 100%. People who've never had HG don't get it. There is no amount of eating, smelling lemons or sucking on hard candy that will help you. Even with a maximum dose of Zofran, it's still tough.
5-03-2010 @ 1:23PM
audrey said...I read a study years ago that said if a pregnant woman really wants the child or really doesn't want the child, morning sickness is not likely to occur. Ambivalence seemed to be key in "morning sickness". This study was done more than 20 years ago in Catholic countrieswhen abortion was not available.
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5-03-2010 @ 11:16AM
lynnvt2000 said...I am an HG survivor and unless you truly go through it you cannot comprehend. It takes over your body in every way possible. THERE ARE NO HOME REMEDIES OR MEDICINES to help. No crackers, ginger, lollipops. It's a horrific thing to go through and you worry about your unborn child the entire time. It is 40 weeks if you make it of being bedridden, everything tastes weird even to brush your teeth is hard and makes you sick and yes as stated you can't even drink let alone hold down a sip of water. I had an at home IV and spent many times at the hospital. This is not your ordinary morning sickness but 1000 times worse.
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5-03-2010 @ 12:03PM
Lisa said...My Mother said she had "morning sickness" all day long with all 5 of us, I never had it even once. My younger sister was just like Mom with her pregnancies.
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5-03-2010 @ 12:22PM
Jessica said...I would bet that this article is suffering from poor translation - which often happens when people try to put into layman's terms the findings of a scientific study.
Based on the information given here, I would bet almost anything that this study simply found a CORRELATION between mothers and daughters both experiencing HG, but that this does not mean CAUSATION.
In other words, there is a statistical relationship between mothers having HG and their daughters also experiencing it during pregnancy, where on a graph, when the rate of one increases, so does the other. However, this doesn't mean that mothers having HG is the direct cause of their daughters having HG, nor does it mean that their daughters are guaranteed to have HG.
It's like another study in the past few years that said teens who watch TV shows with sexualized behaviors are more likely to become pregnant teens. The media reported it as a cause=effect study; the teens watch sexy television, therefore they go have sex and become pregnant. The TV made them do it. Rather, the study was merely citing a correlation: teens who are more likely to engage in sexual activity are also more likely to watch programming that features sex. While the shows they watch may influence their behavior, or vice versa, finding a correlation between the factors does NOT find causation or define the parameters of the relationship between the two factors.
So saying that the study must be false because you didn't experience this same "your mother had it, therefore you will" is an ineffective argument, as it doesn't take into account population size (your one family's experience versus 2.3 million birthing experiences) or the fact that the study is probably not saying that the indication of a genetic connection means a direct cause and effect relationship.
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5-03-2010 @ 12:52PM
Fran said...Poorly written intro (like most articles on AOL, probably written by someone too young to have experienced pregnancy as yet). If you've got a perceptible belly bump, you're already past the morning sickness stage.
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5-03-2010 @ 11:36PM
MOM said...Fran: Just because you have a perceptible belly bump does NOT mean you are past the morning sickness stage. Please pay attention. There are women who suffer from morning sickness THEIR ENTIRE PREGNANCIES. This is NOT normal, but it DOES occur. Kindly educate yourself before you offer your opinions. Thank you.
5-05-2010 @ 3:32AM
BEEVEE said...this was a Norwegian study! du!? I dont believe it was money wasted because every one wants to learn why the body does what it does. Cant stand ignorant people who assume they know everything when there is research going on. Do the research Then Talk . As for me i have morning sickness, and my mother never got it as bad as me.
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