Morning sickness hereditary?

Have you ever wondered just why many women get morning sickness during their pregnancies? Like many other symptoms of pregnancy, the exact cause of vomiting and nausea in expectant moms is unknown. But, according to a new study conducted by South California researchers, morning sickness may be hereditary. If your mother, sister, or even your grandmother suffered from extreme nausea in pregnancy, you are 17 times more likely to experience the same or so the research team says.

The researchers from UCLA and ULC in South California focused on the extreme form of morning sickness called hyperemisis gravidarum (if you want to know more about this extreme form of morning sickness, see our article hyperemisis gravidarum when you are sick all the time). The study team recommends women who have relatives that suffered from extreme vomiting, causing dehydration and even hospitalization to prepare themselves for the fact that hyperemisis might just strike them, too.

Dr Marlena Fejzno, one of the researchers, said: "The high familial prevalence strongly suggests a genetic component to this condition." The study's information collecting methods seem a bit odd. Women who suffered from extreme morning sickness and were so sick they needed hospitalization and IV fluids were asked to recruit a friend to be part of the control group. The requirements were that the friend had at least two pregnancies lasting for 27 weeks or more, but did not suffer from hyperemisis gravidarum. There was a total of 650 participants in the study.

I don't think the study sounds particularly reliable, but the findings are interesting nonetheless. What are your experiences? If you have suffered from extreme pregnancy sickness, did your female relatives as well? Or did your mom, sisters or grandma suffer from constant vomiting during their own pregnancies, while you were spared from that when you got pregnant? We are curious about your story!