A mother’s connection with her child is one of the deepest bonds that we will ever have in our lives, and science shows us why: a part of us literally stays within our mother’s body for practically her entire life.
In the last decade, scientists have found that there is a bi-directional cell interaction between mother and her unborn child. They found thousands of cells that belonged to the baby’s DNA that remained in mothers: brain, tissues, blood and bones, for decades after the baby is born.
In fact, a post-mortem autopsy study found the baby’s genetic material in the mother’s brain, with the oldest subject being 93 years old !
And even if the mother does not give birth, her unborn baby’s cells will still remain within her for just as long time.
Amazed?
Jena Pincott, science writer and writer of Do Chocolate Lovers have Sweeter Babies?, explains that an embryo’s cells can seep into the mother’s bloodstream after only 4 weeks of conception, and will continue during the entire pregnancy.
Although it is still too early to tell why baby cells would stay in the mother for so long, scientists decide to unravel the most important question first: what are our cells doing in mom in the first place?
Fetal cells (possibly) keep mom safe
There are a few theories that float around. The first is quite heartwarming: fetal cells can turn themselves into the type of cells needed to heal mom if she is wounded, because baby cells resemble stem cells.
This actually makes sense. While we are still too vulnerable to be on our own, it would definitely be in our interest to keep mom safe against harm’s way, in any way we can.
And scientists did find some evidence to support this theory.
Dr. Mahmood and Dr. O’Donoghue of Cork University found traces of fetal cells in healed cesarean section wounds, showing that they were definitely very much involved in repairing the mother’s wound.
According to Dr. Mahmood, our cells would rush to the afflicted sites of and actively participate in the healing process to keep mom safe.
From Tufts University, Dr. Kirby Johnson also told a story of a woman inflicted with hepatitis, who was (probably) miraculously healed by the fetal cells from her past pregnancies, that transformed themselves into healthy liver cells. The woman was said to have been found completely healthy months later, without receiving any medical treatments for the ailment. See the end of this article for the full story.
No matter how fairy tale-like these stories might seem, from an evolutionary point of view, it would make sense for us to want our mothers to stay strong and healthy when pregnancy is involved. Same for after she gives birth to us, since she will be our only source of nutrition for months after we leave the womb.
Indeed, a mother’s milk does more than quenching thirst and quelling our hunger. It lays the foundation of our neurological, immunological and even behavioral growth, creating a significant impact on our development into adulthood. As babies, it would make sense for us to want our mothers to produce high quality milk in great abundance.
So it shouldn’t be shocking that fetal cells are also found in the mother’s breast tissue – possibly to help the promotion of higher quality milk and in greater quantities.
But then again… if you asked mom, she may tell you that she was constantly hungry when she breastfed you, because milk production is extremely costly for her body. Also, if the milk supply is overabundant, she risks developing breast cancer in the first year after pregnancy.
This brings us to the second speculation, and it’s much less optimistic than the first.
Fetal cells (may) eventually be one of the culprits for deadly illnesses
Some researchers propose that fetal cells may contribute to numerous diseases. Parkinsons’s disease, breast cancer, thyroid disease for example, are all the conditions where fetal cells are found more frequently in patients than healthy participants.
But wait, this doesn’t make sense. Why would we want to hurt mom?
True, finding our leftover cells in places where mom’s been hurting is like finding our fingerprints all over multiple crime scenes, and we didn’t even know we’ve been there.
To try to explain this, some researchers say that part of it has to do with our immune system. Even though the cells are from the mother’s own baby, they are still considered foreign bodies. The maternal immune system will try to extinguish the leftover fetal cell, triggering inflammatory responses in the mother, and perhaps lead to autoimmune diseases.
Sounds logical, but the supporting studies on this theory are only able to establish an “association” between the fetal cells and the diseases so far. To this date, some skeptical scientists decide that there are not enough studies powerful enough to support this claim.
Meanwhile, a team of researchers in Brazil found that fetal cells have absolutely nothing to do with dreadful diseases, like the thyroid disease.
So the leftover cells… are they good or bad? Or even neutral? Are the answers mutually exclusive?
Looks like the jury’s still out on this one.
Sorry folks, and sorry to mom. We simply don’t know.
The mother-child connection… is bone deep
If you’re still confused after reading this, rest assured that so are the scientists. Time is still too early to tell whether the leftover baby cells are harming or protecting our moms… or if the “cellprints” that we leave behind are simply traces that don’t have any effect. Nor do we know why the cells would stay behind for decades, long after we have reached adulthood.
Whatever the answer may be, one thing we know is for sure: the bond that we have with our mothers is much deeper than we thought.
In fact, from the first moment that she finds herself pregnant with us, we are already starting to become part of her, as much as she is every part of who we are.
So next time your mother tells you that she holds you dearly in her heart, you will know that in its very literal sense, it is true.
Did you know?...
Thanks to the cellular exchange between mothers and her babies, you may be carrying in your body cells of your older siblings, or those of your maternal grandmother?
Fetal cells can colonize other tissues while it stays in the maternal body, for decades?
Dr. Kirby Johnson of Tufts University, told npr.org the case of a woman, an intravenous drug user, who went to a hospital in Boston for hepatitis. Since she has had 5 conceptions (although only delivered once), her doctor decided to send for a liver biopsy, to Dr. Johnson’s team.
After having examined the liver tissue, Dr. Johnson was amazed to find literally sheets after sheets of fetal cells that gathered around the affected tissue, and turned themselves into healthy liver cells.
Interestingly, says Dr. Johnson, the woman did not want to have any further treatment done, so she left with hepatitis – only to return with a completely healthy, undamaged liver a few months later.
Could the woman in this real life fairy tale have been saved by her unborn children? Dr. Johnson thinks it’s an idea too beautiful to be scientifically true, but who knows?
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