Wellbeing of Women and the Royal College of Physicians are funding Dr Melanie Nana’s investigation into a potential link between nutrition deficiency and health-related complications in pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum and their babies.
Pregnancy is, for many women, an exciting and happy time. In early pregnancy, about 4 in 5 women will experience nausea and/or vomiting, commonly referred to as morning sickness. But some will experience a much more severe form called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).
HG typically starts between the fourth and seventh week of pregnancy, peaking at around nine weeks. However, for 1 in 5 women with HG, the vomiting lasts throughout pregnancy. In women with HG, the nausea and vomiting are so severe that it can lead to weight loss and dehydration. It may also be associated with mental health consequences.
Hyperemesis gravidarum affects up to 3% of pregnancies. It can make pregnancy horrendous for the women who experience it and if untreated can result in harm for both the woman and her unborn child.”
Dr Melanie Nana
Wellbeing of Women researcher
Dr Nana’s study, co-funded by Wellbeing of Women and the Royal College of Physicians, involves:
To do this, her team is analysing blood samples from
Dr Nana’s team will also take a blood sample from the mother’s baby a few days after birth.
Researchers are focusing their work on deficiencies already linked to neurodevelopmental and metabolic disorders.
Dr Nana says:
“There is a growing suggestion that nutritional deficiencies can increase the risk of health-related complications for both the pregnant woman and her baby. This requires urgent investigation.
“In 2021 we carried out a study to try to understand the lived experience of women with HG in the UK. 5,000 women responded to the survey, which confirmed that those with the condition suffer both significant physical and mental health complications of the disease.
“We found that 70% of these women had been bed-bound during part of their pregnancy, 5% terminated a wanted pregnancy and 7% had regular suicidal thoughts. It was clear these women lose large amounts of weight and one key concern is how this weight loss of poor dietary intake will affect their unborn baby.
“The idea that nutritional deficiencies can increase the risk of health conditions in children isn’t new. We already know that children born to women exposed to famine are more likely to have schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorders, obesity, hypertension and heart disease. But we do need to understand the relationship and potential link between HG, nutritional deficiencies and neurodevelopmental and metabolic disorders. This will ensure we are able to support women through their pregnancies effectively.”
Understanding the role of nutritional deficiency in the development of health-related complications for pregnant women with HG and neurodevelopmental and metabolic disorders in their children has the potential to inform future new treatments to improve the outcomes for women and their babies. This knowledge will allow doctors and midwives to support women more effectively in their pregnancies and give their babies the best start in life.
Wellbeing of Women is funding several research projects to help improve treatment and care during pregnancy and birth, including:
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Wellbeing of Women researcher Dr Emily Cornish has been exploring the potential to treat a little-known pregnancy complication that can have tragic consequences
Funded by Wellbeing of Women, in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives and the Burdett Trust for Nursing, this study looks at the use of social media for sharing birth information.