Here's some proof that a mother and baby's bond will never be broken: a new research suggests that a part of the fetal cells can remain in their mothers' bodies for years, even for a lifetime.
The Dutch study now available in Molecular Human Reproduction was conducted by Leiden University Medical Center pathologists. They analyzed the tissue samples collected from mothers who died while giving birth or a short time after the baby's delivery.
Since all of these mothers gave birth to baby boys, it's easier to know what to look for: Y chromosome. And this one is found in all tissue samples and in many of the organs including the heart and kidney.
This phenomenon is called microchimerism, which is named after a beast in mythology that has body parts made from different animals. Microchimerism can occur when genetically distinct cells become part of another person's body usually through transplantation and transfusion. The process, on the other hand, is called cell migration. It's when the cells of the baby invade the bloodstream and find their way to different tissue of the body. Because these cells work like stem cells, they can also become part of the tissue. Simply put, the baby cells can transform themselves into heart tissues, among others.
This isn't the first study to analyze the relationship between pregnancy and microchimerism. In 2007 a Singaporean study talks in length about cellular migration of these fetal cells to the mothers and that it can persist for as long as 10 years. Another research tells of how these cells can travel to the brain, where they can potentially help treat stroke.
However, this is the first that a study focused on the extent of microchimerism on mothers. It showed that the lungs are the most chimeric, followed by the spleen, kidney, brain, and heart. It can begin as early as 7 weeks of gestation, and as the mother gives birth to more babies, more chimeric cells may become part of her body.
