Morning sickness is a condition of pregnancy that happens due to the release of hCG in the blood. Its symptoms include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and high sensitivity towards the smell of food. It is one of the early signs of pregnancy. It appears in the 6th week of pregnancy in the first trimester and ends in 12th to 14th weeks at the start of the second trimester. Most abortions occur in the first trimester. It is caused by a variety of reasons. Lots of research is in progress to find out the link of miscarriage with morning sickness. There is no direct link detected. However, the presence of morning sickness lowers the risk of miscarriages.
Is No Morning Sickness Linked To Miscarriage?
Morning sickness is an important sign of pregnancy that appears in the first trimester. It is not an illness but it makes the women feel sick. Almost 50% of the pregnant women experience morning sickness in their first trimester of pregnancy. It starts in the sixth week of pregnancy that has the tendency to appear and disappear. It lasts up to 12th to 15th weeks of pregnancy. It is usually mild to moderate in nature that does not interrupt the developmental stages of the baby in the womb. It does not harm the health of the mother either.
Morning sickness appears when chronic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) is released in the body. This hormone is released when the fertilized egg implants itself in the uterus. This hormone is secreted from the placenta formed after the fertilization.
Morning sickness is symbolized by nausea that usually appears in the morning. Other symptoms of morning sickness include vomiting, loss of appetite, breast tenderness and sometimes constipation. The condition settles down by itself with the start of the second trimester.
Morning sickness does not appear in some women. In some women, nausea, and vomiting appear in the pregnancy and in some it does not. This does not mean that its absence is not good for pregnancy. It is also seen that it appears in one pregnancy and is absent in the other one in the same woman. Fading or absence of morning sickness is not a sign of miscarriage. There may be fluctuations in the pregnancy symptoms and it is considered normal. Huge variation is seen in pregnancy symptoms among women. In a study done in 2016, pregnant women were studied who have a past history of miscarriages to understand the relationship of morning sickness with the miscarriage. Their levels of chronic gonadotropin hormone were also measured. It was found that 50-75% of pregnant women had morning sickness are less in risk to miscarriage than who don’t have morning sickness. It was also revealed that those women who have nausea alone are more likely to have a miscarriage than those who have both nausea and vomiting. However, women who do not have nausea or vomiting or morning sickness are not necessarily going to have a miscarriage.
A study conducted by the National Institute of health in Maryland states that nausea and vomiting are a good sign of pregnancy and their presence show that pregnancy is still proceeding in a healthy direction. This does not again support that complete absence of morning sickness symbolize miscarriage. Morning sickness compels pregnant women to take less food that leads to a reduction of insulin in the body and less circulation of insulin to the placenta. Less insulin promotes more growth of the placenta.
So, the presence of nausea and vomiting provide some assurance of pregnancy and lesser chances of miscarriages. But, it is important to understand that excess nausea and vomiting that do not keep the food down at all can cause dehydration and weight loss which is harmful to the baby.
Conclusion
Morning sickness is one of the healthy signs of pregnancy. Although, it may be absent in some women. But its absence is not a sign of miscarriage. However, its presence may reduce the risk of miscarriages.
- Lacasse, A., & Rey, E. (2011). Defining hyperemesis gravidarum severity trajectories across pregnancy. An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 118(12), 1520-1528.
- O’Brien, B., Relyea, M. J., & Taechakraichana, N. (2016). Hyperemesis gravidarum: a review of recent literature. Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, 36(4), 437-445.
- Fejzo, M. S., Sazonova, O. V., Sathirapongsasuti, J. F., Hallgrímsdóttir, I. B., Vacic, V., MacGibbon, K. W., … & Kugathasan, S. (2018). Placenta and appetite genes GDF15 and IGFBP7 are associated with hyperemesis gravidarum. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1-13.
- Committee on Practice Bulletins—Obstetrics. (2015). ACOG practice bulletin No. 153: Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 126(3), e12-e24.
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