Dutch researchers recently took stock of the causes, diagnosis and treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum.
- Risk factors for hyperemesis gravidarum include pregnancy at a young age, female fetus, multiple or molar pregnancy, underlying medical conditions, and a history of this condition.
- The diagnosis can be made during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy when the pregnant woman experiences nausea and vomiting, at least one of which is severe.
- Treatments are based on antiemetic drugs. “Ginger products may relieve mild nausea and vomiting in some people.”
During the first trimester of pregnancy, some pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting which may then disappear. In approximately less than 4% of cases, vomiting is serious because it is severe and repeated. It has a name: hyperemesis gravidarum. In this situation, if the pregnant woman is unable to eat to compensate for the loss of water and food due to vomiting, she risks lacking certain nutrients and becoming dehydrated. This can have negative effects on the health of both mother and child. Indeed, according to health insurance, pregnant women may suffer from anxiety, depression and a decline in the quality of personal and family life. As for the baby, his birth weight is likely to be low and he may be born premature.
Therefore, medical care is necessary to avoid any impact on health. However, she “requires considerable healthcare resources as it is a common reason for hospital admission and emergency room visits during the first trimester.” Problem: some data on hyperemesis gravidarum are missing. This is why scientists from the Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute (Netherlands) provided new information to clinicians about this pathology in a recent study published in the journal Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Hyperemesis gravidarum: how to diagnose it?
The team returned to the causes of nausea and vomiting which are not “fully understood”. After reviewing several researches, they found that risk factors included pregnancy at a young age, female fetus, multiple or molar pregnancy, underlying medical conditions, and history of this condition during previous pregnancies.
Regarding the diagnosis, the authors suggest that it can be made during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy when the pregnant woman suffers from nausea and vomiting, at least one of which is severe, preventing sufficient nutrition and affecting tasks. everyday. “The abnormal presence of ketone bodies in urine is not necessary to diagnose hyperemesis gravidarum,” they wrote.
“Ginger products can relieve mild nausea and vomiting”
In the absence of curative options, treatments aim to reduce symptoms and have the potential to improve quality of life and perinatal outcomes, as well as reduce socioeconomic burden. These are based on antiemetic drugs. “Remedies, such as ginger products, may relieve mild nausea and vomiting in some people, but the evidence for their effectiveness in people with hyperemesis gravidarum is uncertain.”
The team warns against the consumption of cannabis in cases of hyperemesis gravidarum. It has been associated with adverse neurocognitive outcomes in the child as well as other adverse pregnancy outcomes. “Therefore, we do not recommend it. (…) Many questions remain unanswered about how to prevent and manage hyperemesis gravidarum and that additional research is needed”they concluded.
