We all know that becoming a mother is a pretty life-changing experience.
It changes your emotions (crying at everything). Your figure (remember your old hip/waist ratio?.) And your multi-tasking ability (I swear, I can cook scrambled eggs while dressing two children AND putting on mascara!).
But did you know that motherhood also changes us at our most basic cellular level?
According to a new US study, our babies’ actual cells, as in from we carried them inside, stay in our bodies, even long after the pregnancy itself is over. In fact, the cells can stick around in a mother’s body for up to 38(!) years after the baby has been born.
Researchers have labeled the phenomenon “fetal microchimerism”, a term originated from the Greek mythological creature composed of different animals.
But if you think this is both strange and amazing, there is more: The cells don’t just stay on in our uteruses, they migrate throughout our entire bodies. Those leftover cells from our once-there babies spread out, find new homes, settling in our brains, livers or our lungs, and actually re-map our own cells, giving them back a new life of their own.
This is how a lead researcher from Arizona State University explained what they have discovered:
“Fetal cells can act as stem cells and develop into epithelial cells, specialized heart cells, liver cells and so forth. This shows that they are very dynamic and play a huge role in the maternal body. They can even migrate to the brain and differentiate into neurons. We are all chimeras.”
According to the study, fetal cells begin their migration out of the womb and into mum’s body during pregnancy, when they direct nutrients and life-giving abilities to the baby. After pregnancy, those cells live on and can benefit the mother by healing damaged tissue or aiding in repairing scar tissue.
Wow. How amazing are our bodies?!
