Abstract
Wonders unfold every day and the mind boggles at
the hidden power of our human bodies to hold secrets
that the human eye can never see but the heart and
soul feel and intuitively, just know. We cannot see the
microscopic world of the blood that flows through
our veins, however, with modern technological
enhancements and powerful microscopes we can
visualise our genetic traits through blood profiles.
The lifeworld of our blood cells that once was hidden
is now visible! I believe it is ocularcentrism that
drives us to seek the visual evidence for ‘proof’ of
concept and with the revealing power of technology
comes the ‘aha’ moment when we first see (Sinclair
et al 2019). The realisation of the gift of precious life
that flows from the beginning of time and lasts forever
is mesmerising stuff that can set the imagination on
fire! The new evidence on ‘fetal microchimeria’(FMc)
indicates that at conception, transference of maternal
and fetal cells occur and that new life lives in us,
regardless of whether or not we abort or have a
stillbirth or the child or the adult dies. The definition
of motherhood is called into question if we consider
this fact. What a thought to consider and it brings us
a new lens to look at the role of being a mother and
the longevity of human cells. The thought of your
child’s cells remaining in your body for the lifespan
is now factual not fictional. The facts are simple:
cells from your baby (aborted, miscarried or born)
remain in your body for a very long time and your
cells also remain in your child, resulting in reciprocal
transference, known as ‘fetal microchimerism’
(FMc) (Shrivastava et al 2019). This fact supports
the intuition that mothers often express when they
sense their child is in trouble although they have
nothing but a feeling to go on. The shared cellular
life identified through FMc provides the scientific
basis to prove the life line theory. Furthermore, the
often heard statement: ‘a part of me died when my
mother died’ can also be scientifically proven …with
our understanding of FMc. Fetal microchimerism
refers to the bi-directional transfer of cells from the
mother to the fetus and from the fetus to the mother
and can occur at any time from conception to birth.
These cells remain in circulation for the lifespan and
have been implicated in both positive and negative
autoimmune disease progression (Shrivastava et al
2019). The understanding of FMc is an emerging
body of knowledge that is focused on determining the
role and function of transferred cells from the fetus
to the mother during conception, pregnancy and the
puerperium (Berencsi et al 2012). Some studies have
reported positive associations such as protection from
breast cancer (Gadi 2010) and Florim et al (2015)
report positive associations with lupus. However,
negative associations have been reported with
increased risk of pre-eclampsia and cardiovascular
disease (Berencsi et al 2012), yet others report both
positive and negative associations (Yeung & Dendrou
2019). There is no doubt that this is an area for
future research as the facts are still in the process of
being collected and synthesised. Another explosive
and controversial application of this important new
knowledge for religious believers is with regard to
the evidence that can be extrapolated to confirm
the very special role and veneration of the Virgin
Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Ministers and faith
writers have written books (Calloway 2013) and
social media postings, blogs and online commentaries
about FMc referring to the evidence from research as
confirmation of Mary’s virgin birth and her ascension
into heaven (Dobkowski 2017). Personal beliefs are
to be respected but as midwives we are bound to seek
the evidence from the genomics and immunology
first and then we must remain sensitive and respectful
to the religious beliefs of all the women we serve.
We are cognisant of the complexity of human nature
and our training prepares us to care for the mind,
body and soul, of all those who place their trust in
us. Each component of our human nature requires
respect, protection and nurturing and FMc
is definitely an amazing discovery with soul
magnifying potential.
Editorial
The Royal College of Midwives. Evidence Based Midwifery 18:2 2020 3
I do hope this brief introduction will encourage you
to read more about FMc and some of you may be
inspired to undertake research in this subject.
Key words: fetal microchimerism, evidence-basedmidwifery,
motherhood, genetics, ocularcentrism,
spirituality and intuition
References
Berencsi G III, Szomor KN (2012). Fetal and neonatal illnesses
caused or influenced by maternal transplacental IgG and/or
therapeutic antibodies applied duringPpregnancy. In: Maternal fetal
transmission of human viruses and their influence on tumorigenesis.
London: Springer: 281-333.
Calloway DH (2013). Under the mantle: Marian thoughts from a
21st century priest. Stockbridge, MA: Marian Press.
Dobkowski JH (2017). ‘The science behind the immaculate
conception.’ Corporation You, 8 December. https://corporationyou.
wordpress.com/tag/fetal-microchimerism/ [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Gadi VK (2010). Fetal microchimerism in breast from women with
and without breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
121(1):241–4.
Florim GM, Caldas HC, de Melo JCR, Baptista MASF, Fernandes
IMM, Savoldi-Barbosa M, Goldman GH, Abbud-Filho M (2015).
Fetal microchimerism in kidney biopsies of lupus nephritis patients
may be associated with a beneficial effect. Arthritis Research &
Therapy 17(1):101.
Shrivastava S, Naik R, Suryawanshi H, Gupta N (2019).
Microchimerism: a new concept. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial
Pathology: JOMFP 23(2):311.
Sinclair M, McCullough JE, Elliott D, Latos-Bielenska A, Braz P,
Cavero-Carbonell C, Jamry-Dziurla A, João Santos A, Páramo-
Rodríguez L (2019).
Exploring research priorities of parents who have children with
Down syndrome, cleft lip with or without cleft palate, congenital
heart defects, or spina bifida using ConnectEpeople: a social media
coproduction research study. Journal of Medical Internet Research
21(11):e15847.
Yeung H-Y, Dendrou CA (2019). Pregnancy immunogenetics and
genomics: implications for pregnancy-related complications and
autoimmune disease. Annual Review of Genomics and Human
Genetics 20:73-97.
Professor Marlene Sinclair (editor)
PhD, MEd, PGDip/ED, BSc, RM.
Professor of midwifery research and head of the Centre for
Maternal, Fetal and Infant Research at Ulster University,
Northern Ireland.
Evidence Based Midwifery
The
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 18:2 |
Pages (from-to) | 159 |
Number of pages | 160 |
Journal | Evidence Based Midwifery |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 5 Jun 2020 |
Keywords
- fetal microchimerism,
- evidence-basedmidwifery,
- motherhood
- genetics
- ocularcentrism
- spirituality and intuition