For decades, the condition was thought to be psychological, and women were shamed for their illness. Now a scientist has found a biological cause.

archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20260807124345/https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/can-extreme-morning-sickness-be-cured Bits I found interesting:

When Fejzo returned to work—now at the University of California, Los Angeles—she told her boss that she wanted to work on H.G. “She started laughing in my face,” Fejzo recalled. At the time, H.G. research was not considered a viable career path. She accepted a role studying ovarian cancer instead, and spent her free time collecting data on hyperemesis.

In 2018, Fejzo and her colleagues published a paper identifying a gene linked to H.G., which codes for a hormone called GDF15. In 2022, she published another study which confirmed the link between H.G. and the gene. A third study, published the following year in collaboration with an international team, showed how the hormone predisposed certain women to H.G. Two and half decades after experiencing H.G., she had found its cause.

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[–] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Def hope so too! I think the cause is also biological, genetic. I recall an experiment where a trans woman took the exact levels and all hormones to simulate pregnancy. While she didn't get a baby and her womb didn't expand, she did experience all other symptoms, morning sickness included. Very interesting.

Looking through the data, I don't think it's estradiol by itself as I also take similar levels. If it's genetics, maybe an interaction with progesterone, r-hCG, hGH, relaxin, domperidone, or hPL? But then again, I think she knows more on this than I do.

Wondering now too how morning sicknesses vary by person and by pregnancy... did yours vary?

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