What causes morning sickness?

The news of a royal bun in the oven broke when Kate Middleton was admitted to a hospital with acute morning sickness. A look at the perplexing ailment

Kate Middleton
(Image credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Buckingham Palace has confirmed what the British tabloids have suspected for a while: The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting. Unfortunately, Kate has also been admitted to the hospital due to hyperemesis gravidarum, or acute morning sickness — so severe that no food or liquid can be kept down. This is much different than the morning sickness that affects 50 to 80 percent of pregnant women, starting around the sixth week of their pregnancy. What is it about pregnancy that gives women the constant urge to purge?

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