MILAN, SEP 5,2000 (ZENIT.org). - 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."
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