pregnantmother77: Mothers undergo permanent changes during pregnancy, in which they
"inherit" some characteristics of the child they carry and,
through the child, also receive some characteristics of
the father.
This is but one of the surprising
discoveries to be presented at the congress entitled "At the Dawn of
Human Life," organized by the Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics of
the Catholic University of Rome. The congress begins Sept. 6 in the
Vatican, as part of the Jubilee of University Professors.
The
child inherits half of his genetic patrimony from the mother. He also
"hears" the outside world while in the womb, through the mother's body,
a fact which substantially conditions the unborn child's life. Now,
research indicates that the mother also undergoes long-term changes
caused by the "person" of the child and, indirectly, also from her
husband.
Professor Salvatore Mancuso, head of the gynecology
institute, said: "We have proofs that beginning in the fifth week of
gestation, in other words, when a woman realizes she is pregnant, an
infinite number of messages pass from the embryo to the mother, through
chemical substances like hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. Such
information serves to adapt the mother's organism to the presence of
the new being.
"Moreover, it has also been discovered that the
embryo sends stem cells that, thanks to the mother's immune system
tolerance, colonize the maternal medulla, and adhere to it. What is
more, lymphocytes are born from here and remain with the woman for the
rest of her life."
Mancuso continued: "From the fifth week there
is clearly a passing of cells, but messages begin at conception. Even
during the first phase of cellular subdivision, when the embryo is
moving in the fallopian tubes, there are transmissions through contact
with tissues touched by the moving embryo.
"Later, after
implantation in the uterus, the dialogue is more intense through the
blood and cells, and chemical substances enter the mother's
bloodstream.
"Finally, the child's stem cells pass to the mother
in great quantity, both at the moment of birth, whether spontaneous or
Caesarean, as well as at the time of abortion, whether spontaneous or
voluntary. These cells are implanted in the mother's medulla and
produce lymphocytes, which have a common origin with the cells of the
central nervous system; they have receptors for the neurotransmitters
and can make messages pass that the maternal nervous system
understands."
He added, "An astonishing area of research is
opening up. This is information of enormous importance on the first
phases of life."
When asked whether it was difficult to make rigid
divisions of the phases of the embryo's development, Mancuso said, "It
is a grave error to make distinctions between the embryo and
pre-embryo. It is such an initial phase - one cannot of course speak of
a central nervous system - but the messages the embryo sends to the
mother express manifestations that are proper to the human species. The
instruments used are highly specialized chemical substances and cells,
such as stem cells.
"It should be remembered that if
communication was lacking, the maternal organ would reject the embryo.
The dialogue makes possible the perfect acceptance of an organism that
is 50% foreign to the mother's genetic patrimony. In fact, these
chemical substances, which express nutritional and metabolic needs of
the embryo to the mother, cause an immune depression in her that
facilitates the acceptance of the new being."
When asked how long
the fetus' influence on the mother lasts, the professor answered: "Stem
cells have been found in the mother even 30 years after the birth. It
could be said, therefore, the pregnancy does not last the 40 canonical
weeks, but the woman's entire life.
"This should be cause for
reflection also in regard to the hypothesis of 'renting' a womb: In
this case, the mother who carries the embryo accepts a being whose
genetic patrimony is 100% foreign, and who will 'modify' her for the
rest of her life. We have no idea of the long-term consequences of such
operations.
Regarding the transfer of the father's
characteristics to the mother via the unborn child, Mancuso said,
"These are areas that are yet to be explored. Of course it calls for
reflection on a new way of understanding pregnancy. Also, a very close
tie is undoubtedly created between man and woman, because the child has
50% of the father's genetic characteristics. Moreover, the
hematopoietic [blood-producing] stem cells go to the medulla and
produce offspring cells, lymphocytes and neurotransmitters with the
capacity to dialogue with the maternal central nervous system. It is
somewhat as though the 'thoughts' of the child pass to the mother, even
many years after his birth."
