Blessed with Life

THIS has to be one of the most amazing and surprising articles I have come across in a long time! I can't remember exactly where I was introduced to the story, anyway it is from LifeSiteNews.com and the headline reads "Unborn child just a ‘parasite’? Cutting edge science shows fetal cells heal mother for life" by Peter Baklinski.  So, as usual, I have highlighted my favorite portions, and have some additional thoughts at the end.

January 4, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A standard pro-abortion argument hinges on the premise that a baby inside his mom’s womb attacks her bodily integrity. The developing baby is seen in this light as an intruder, a parasite, a threat to the woman’s autonomy. From this perspective the pregnant woman is viewed as being occupied. The only way she can continue to exercise her interest in bodily integrity, the argument goes, is to be liberated through the termination and expulsion of the invader.
But science paints a vastly different picture about the actual relationship between a baby in utero and his or her mother, showing that, far from being a parasite, the unborn child can help heal his mother for the rest of her life, as beneficial cells from the child pass into the mother’s body during pregnancy.
Science writer Jena Pinctott explores this relationship in her October 2011 book “Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?: The Surprising Science of Pregnancy.”
Science has been studying the phenomena of fetal cell microchimerism for more than 30 years, after researchers at Stanford University were shocked in 1979 to discover a pregnant mother’s blood containing cells with Y sex chromosomes. Since women only have X chromosomes, they concluded that the cells must have entered into her body from the male baby she carried within her.
Drawing on studies in biology, reproductive genetics, and epigenetics, Pincott outlined in her book what science has learned since the Stanford discovery. “During pregnancy,” she wrote, “cells sneak across the placenta in both directions. The fetus’s cells enter his mother, and the mother’s cells enter the fetus.”
Scientists have discovered, she said, that a baby’s fetal cells show up more often in a mother’s healthy breast tissue and less often in a woman who has breast cancer (43 versus 14 percent).
Pinctott pointed out that as the quantity of fetal cells in a mother’s body increase the activity of autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis decreases. She called the evidence “tantalizing” that fetal cells may offer the mother increased resistance to certain diseases.
One kind of fetal cells that enter into the mother’s body is the baby’s stem cells. Stem cells have what Pinctott calls “magical properties” in that they can “morph” into other types of cells through a process called differentiation. The baby’s fetal stem cells can actually become the mother’s own cells that make up her liver, heart, or brain.
In what any ethicist might declare to be legitimate ‘embryonic stem cell therapy,’ the baby’s fetal stem cells migrate to the mother’s injured sites and offer themselves as a healing remedy, becoming part of the mother’s very body. Pinctott writes that such cells have been found in “diseased thyroid and liver tissue and have turned themselves into thyroid and liver cells respectively.”
Pinctott calls the evidence “striking” that a baby’s fetal cells “repair and rejuvenate moms.”Genetics specialist Dr. Kirby Johnson of Tufts Medical Center, Boston, and professor Carol Artlett, a researcher at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University, back up Pinctott’s ideas. Their research shows that when a woman becomes pregnant she acquires an army of protective cells - what might be called a gift from her child - that remains with her for decades, perhaps till the end of her life.
Johnson and Artlett spoke to NPR’s Robert Krulwich in a 2006 interview.  In their research, Johnson found that a teaspoon of blood from a pregnant mother contained “dozens, perhaps even hundreds of cells… from the baby.” Science has shown that at the end of a mother’s pregnancy, up to 6 percent of the DNA in her blood plasma comes from her baby.
“One would expect them [the fetal cells in the mother’s body] to be attacked fairly rapidly. You would expect them to be cleared within hours, if not days. What we found is that that is not the case, not anywhere near the case,” Johnson said.
Artlett pointed out that even if a woman miscarries or deliberately aborts her child, the cells of the unborn child nonetheless remain with the mother, even for decades.Both Johnson and Artlett defend the hypothesis that the baby’s fetal cells have a beneficent purpose, not to hurt the mother, but to protect, defend, and repair her for the rest of her life, especially when she becomes seriously ill.“There’s a lot of evidence now starting to come out that these cells may actually be repairing tissue,” said Artlett.
During the interview, Johnson told the story of one woman who was admitted into a Boston hospital with symptoms of hepatitis. She was an intravenous drug user with five pregnancies on record: one birth, two miscarriages, and two abortions. Johnson speculated that she would be carrying a lot of fetal cells.In the process of examining her, the medical team performed a liver biopsy. A sample of her liver was sent to a lab to see if any fetal cells had congregated in the diseased area of her liver. What they found surprised them. “We found hundreds… and hundreds of fetal cells,” said Johnson, adding that they saw “literally sheets of cells, whole areas that seemed to be normal.”
Scientists are still trying to determine what causes the baby’s cells to work with the mother’s body in such a synergetic fashion. Pinctott wonders how many people have left their DNA in a mother’s body. “Any baby we’ve ever conceived,” she concludes.
Pinctott sees something “beautiful” in this. “Long post postpartum, we mothers continue to carry our children, at least in a sense. Our babies become part of us, just as we are a part of them. The barriers have broken down; the lines are no longer fixed.”
Perhaps it is not at all poetic to say along with Pinctott that a baby lives a lifetime in a mother’s heart and mind.

It may be that further research finds that this effect is much less significant than this research suggests, or that it is possible for this effect to be unhelpful in some cases. But for right now, it is a really beautiful thought that every baby I conceive, whether or not I am able to raise them, will leave a physical legacy in my body as a testament to their beginnings. 

Remembering Pregnancy Loss- by Olivia Hinebaugh

So it seems last month was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month and Olivia Hinebaugh wrote a particularly touching article for mothering.com entitled Remembering Pregnancy Loss.  She was able to put into words many of the feelings I remember experiencing that I struggled to define and explain. 

I do not share my experience with everyone, and I try to be selective about who I share it with and how I share it. But, I am not always careful enough, and there have been one or two times that I have regretted it. Interestingly, it has always been with women who have suffered a miscarriage themselves. Not everyone, it seems, feels a deep emotional pain of loss with early miscarriage. But I do. I didn't know how to explain it before, but Olivia's words were perfect: "But when I saw that line [confirming that she was pregnant], my heart made some extra space for that baby--a space that is still there, still empty." 

Later she says, (emphasis mine)

"My friends who knew I was pregnant did their best. They said: “You’ll have another,” and “it wasn’t meant to be.” But I loved this baby. How could they say that? I wanted a sympathy card. Or flowers. Or acknowledgement that I hadn’t made this whole thing up. One of my friends heard of the miscarriage and immediately came over and fixed me dinner. This was truly a kindness. My grandmother sent me an email of condolence. I saved it. I saved the home pregnancy test. I saved the onesies and the bib. I needed to know that this baby was real and that I loved it.

When I hear that friends of mine have lost a pregnancy. I remember how I felt. I write them a card of condolence. I give a little memento for their baby. Something they can look at. Something to know that it was real. Perhaps my friends don’t need these to grieve, but in case they do, they know that I grieve with them and remember their baby."

I love these suggestions and wish I had thought of them myself when I found out a friend of mine was suffering though this experience. 

If you have experienced early pregnancy loss, or if you are close to someone who is experiencing pregnancy loss, I recommend you read this piece in its entirety.  To some, pregnancy loss is not a big deal, but it was for me and for Olivia and it may be for you- and that is a perfectly valid feeling. 

Cervical Scar Tissue – A Big Issue That No One Is Talking About by Dawn Thompson

One of the first articles I ever bookmarked was this one.  Reading this story made me wish there was a way I could share this information with everyone I meet!  If it never came up in conversation before then let me share it with you now.  As before, my comments are in maroon, I have also highlighted some of Dawn's words.  The original article can be found HERE 

In my first year of being a birth doula, I had this client. She desperately wanted a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). She told me how in her first birth that she was in labor for hours. Waters broken, Pitocin, epidural, tubes and wires coming from every direction. During her extremely long ordeal the only change to her cervix was the effacement (the thinning of the cervix). Her cervix never opened at all. I assumed at the time that this was because her baby was just not ready to come out. This time could and would be different. She would wait for labor to start. We would stay at home and labor where she was comfortable. When the day came, that is exactly what she did. Her labor seemed to be moving right along. When we got to the hospital I expected they would tell her that she was 4-5 cms. Instead what we got was, 100% effaced but only a finger tip dilated. I think I may have even gasped out loud. I immediately started beating myself up in my head. How could I have read her labor so wrong? 6 more hours would pass with her, her husband and I working hard. Moving from the birth ball to the shower and I swear every inch of that hospital room in between. After 6 hours, still a finger tip dilated. Obviously there is something wrong with her cervix, but what. No one seemed to know. Not the two different nurses that we had the pleasure of getting to know or the doctor who we saw just once when he was coming to explain that she would be having yet another c-section. This is one of those moments in my career that I really wish I knew then what I know now.
I have never stopped thinking of her. There has always been this part of me that wanted to call her and say “I know what it is now, can you have another baby so we can fix it?” I just know this would not make her feel any better. Instead, I keep her close to me whenever I ask the question now during each and every prenatal visit, “Have you ever had any procedures done to your cervix?” Every single birth professional that is assisting clients should be asking this question.
I would like to point out here that procedures done to your cervix would include a D&C which is not only performed in abortions but also sometimes for miscarriages (and other things). Look, I’m not a scientist, researcher, doctor and anything else that would know how to study this stuff. What I am is a doula that has had the pleasure of attending over 100 births. I know that the client I mentionead above was not the only one who had a c-section because of scar tissue during my earlier days. I can look back and think of all the clients that seemed to be in transition (7-10 cms) but when checked were still only 4cm. Stuck there for hours and hours. Then wondering for days after their c-section if there was something I could have done differently to help. 

A New Day! 

The day that changed my life as a doula forever, my very own sister was having a baby. She was having her second baby. I told her how great it would be and it would be so much faster than her first. When she started having surges just a few days before her due date, we were excited. I went to her home (3 hrs away) and stayed the whole weekend. She had surges off and on all weekend but nothing really steady. I went home after three days and decided that maybe my being there was freaking her out. For the next week, she had surges every day. I kept telling her it was going to be great. All this work would get her cervix open slowly and gently.  Then she visited her midwife. She was just a finger tip dilated. I chalk this up to my sister being a big drama queen. All the surges have been Braxton Hicks! The next weekend comes and I find myself making the drive because this time her water broke. Now we know this baby is coming. She has mild labor, 7 minutes apart for 16 hours. Nothing is changing. I suggest we head in. Something is just not right. We get to the hospital and a different midwife she has never met comes to check her. 100% effaced but only a finger tip dilated. What?! Are you kidding me?! Then the words that changed my life. “Have you even had any procedures done to your cervix?” My sister says “yes, I had cryo surgery done a couple of years ago to remove pre cancer cells”. Midwife “ok well that makes sense, you have scar tissue on your cervix, and I can feel it.” Huh? Scar tissue on the cervix? Why had I never heard of this? My client from before comes rushing back to my head. Of course! The midwife proceeds to explain to my sister that she is going to try and massage the cervix and break the scar up. With some discomfort for my sister, she went from a finger tip dilated to 3 cms in a matter of minutes. An hour later she was 4 cms and an hour after that my nephew was born. Once the scar tissue had completely released, she flew to 10 cms.
As you can imagine, I asked that Midwife a ton of questions. I wanted to know all I could about this scar tissue stuff. Besides “massaging”, what can you do before hand? She shared her knowledge with me. Told me that HPV is so very common and more and more women are having these  standard procedures done, but are never informed that it most likely will leave scar tissue. Although less common, this includes women who have ever had a D & C after a miscarriage or abortion.
Once I was armed with the knowledge, my successful VBAC rate shot up as did my vaginal birth rate in general. I would ask the question and if the answer was yes, I would tell them what I knew. I would suggest that they mention it to their doctor so that if anything came up during labor, would he or she be willing to massage the cervix. Also I learned from that Midwife that evening primrose oil taken orally and vaginally would help break up the scar tissue before labor. (Orally taken the entire pregnancy and vaginally each night only after 36 weeks).
My midwives had me use evening primrose oil vaginally after 36 or 38 weeks (the details are fuzzy) to help ripen and prepare my cervix even though I did not have scar tissue.  However, I would definitely make sure to talk to your midwife about this before hand. Since this very important day 3 1/2 years ago, I know I have prevented c-sections. Several times in the hospital I have asked the doctor to please, when he is checking mama to feel for scar tissue.  Almost every time the doctor has said “oh yeah, I feel some sort of knot here” or some other variation of that statement. This then leads to a question of; can you try and rub it out?
Why Doctors aren’t talking about this is beyond me. I honestly think they don’t know that it is an issue. If you believe this could be an issue for you, ask your care provider if they are willing to break up scar tissue during labor. If they blow you off or tell you that they don't do that, find a new provider. It does not matter how far you are into your pregnancy, you can change. I have had clients change at 40 weeks.
We all need to start talking about it because unless women are being asked the question, they just don’t know.

by: Dawn Thompson 

Doula Dawn Thompson has been a Labor and Postpartum Doula since 2003. She is considered these days as the VBAC queen. It has become her passion to assist families through the VBAC journey and educate first time moms on how to avoid the many pitfalls of our modern day medicalized birth. You can get more information about her at www.douladawn.com.

Doctors should know about this. Midwives should know about this. Women should know about this. And not just during labor, women need to be informed about this whenever a procedure that can leave cervical scar tissue is discussed.  I have a friend who was offered an optional D&C to help with her miscarriage- the main reason she decided to avoid it if possible was because she knew about the risk of scar tissue to her cervix. 

5 Ways to Revolutionize How We Think About Pregnancy Loss by Jessica Zucker, Ph.D.

Not to start on a sad note, but this has been on my radar lately and I will start with some of the tabs that are on my browser right now.  I will quote the article in full below, with my comments embedded in maroon throughout. The original article can be found HERE 

There is no one "right" way to feel after experiencing pregnancy loss. Stop. Re-read that. It is so true, and important to recognize whether you are the soul experiencing it or the soul trying to help. The trauma continuum is vast and varied. Every woman comes to this loss with differing maternal hopes, historical disappointments, pregnancy fantasies, relationships with their bodies, interpersonal support, psychological and spiritual resources and mental health landscapes. And these things do have a strong influence. However, in my clinical practice, I have witnessed an overriding shame-laden thread that invariably weaves through the grief-stricken stories I am privileged to hear. Why are women blaming themselves for something over which they have zero control? My hunch is that the pain of wanting something so badly and not knowing if it can be attained, or having no control over something so elusive as fetal development, is too terrifying to sit with. As a result, we scurry around, desperate for definitive answers and when there are none, blame ends up clutching onto our shoulders, leaking into our psyches and settling into our bodies.
Whether it has happened to you or someone you love, here are five ways we can revolutionize how we think about pregnancy loss and its aftermath, with the aim of unraveling the thread of shame:
1. Endeavor to Understand Self-blame. I have heard countless stories of pregnancy loss and a subsequent rush toward self-blame. Here's a sampling of ruminating what-if's:
"What if I miscarried because I don't deserve to experience the mystery of motherhood, exercised too much, am too old, too young, wasn't sure if I wanted a child, had a sip of wine, stopped believing in God when I was a kid, had too much sex while pregnant, desperately wanted to be a mother-- maybe I wanted it too much.""What if I was too obsessive, too invested, too aloof, too attached....?"All of these thought patterns underscore how steadfast the mind/heart can be in tirelessly trying to make sense of the dizzying despair that can accompany pregnancy loss. It might hurt too much to resist chasing every line of thinking, every possible pregnancy indulgence, every behavioral regret, every everything. Please know that just because you feel this way, does not make your blame justified. Take validation in knowing that it is easy to feel this way and many women do, but just because you may feel it is your fault and you may find arguments to justify that feeling, does not make it true. But, here's the thing: self-blame spirals into shame in a millisecond. As researcher Brene Brown aptly states, "Shame is lethal. And I think we are swimming in it deep. Here's the bottom line with shame. The less you talk about it, the more you got it. Shame needs three things to grow exponentially in our lives: secrecy, silence, and judgment." Can we attempt to sit in solace, rather than create more angst through appropriating misinformation or believing misguided stories we tell ourselves? Can we disband self-judgment and rest in the unknown?
2. Forfeit Control. There is an illusion that by pinpointing a reason why this happened, a solution can be harnessed and straddled for next time. Why? Because we prefer to act than to feel, to strive rather than to be, and to problem "solve" as opposed to wading through psychological discomfort. But do we really have control over our fertility? Over something as minuscule as chromosomes? Reproductive technologies often provide further confusion over what we have ultimate control over. But even when technologies assist women in achieving the family they long for, the health and development of a fetus is out of everyone's hands, no matter the level of scientific expertise. The American Congress of Obstetricians Gynecologists reports that 10-25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage sorry to interrupt mid-sentence, but I just want to point out that with that statistic note how likely it is that your sisters, mother, or friends have experienced this -- a glaring statistic which further serves to inform us that no matter how driven, accomplished or psychologically sturdy we are, we can't necessarily escape the unfortunate numerical facts.
3. Honor Uniqueness. Even if your sister, best friend, colleague and/or neighbor had a miscarriage too, trauma reverberates, hibernates and maybe even evaporates differently for everyone. Rather than comparing and contrasting stories and possibly projecting our own experience elsewhere, we might simply ask how she is feeling and inquire about what her emotional temperature is at any given moment. Checking in again, even months after the trauma, might be the very thing she was yearning for. Every day is different and grief knows no timeline. This. A thousand times this. It might be tempting to compare, by minimizing or magnifying, the pain of a loss at six weeks versus 20 weeks, but why go there? Loss is excruciating, no matter how far along we are in days/weeks/months. "Well, at least you were only six weeks. You can always try again in a few months," doesn't necessarily help assuage the sadness, the numbness or the fear of the future.
4. Lean into the Trauma. Despite how counterintuitive it seems, leaning into trauma might be the very antidote to drowning in it. Most people are poised to eschew trauma at any cost rather than excavate it, with the determined hope that avoiding/denying will magically whisk away dark experiences. In Dr. Mark Epstein's New York Times article "The Trauma of Being Alive," he states: "In resisting trauma and in defending ourselves from feeling its full impact, we deprive ourselves of its truth. The reflexive rush to normal is counterproductive. In the attempt to fit in, to be normal, the traumatized person (and this is most of us) feels estranged." We benefit from disbanding the notion that mourning is avoidable and has a finite end point.
5. Acknowledge the Courage. The courage it takes to endeavor to conceive again after trauma is noteworthy. I'm in awe over the millions of women who experience pregnancy loss and muster the physical and psychological wherewithal to enter into the unknown yet again. I am equally amazed by the courage it takes to declare that one is opting not to wade back into potentially painful or maybe potentially joyful waters. It takes a certain kind of self-understanding to know when to stop, to understand our limits and to honor them.

On a personal note, I believe having the right support system can make a big difference.  I want my sisters to know that I am honored to play whatever role in that support system you may need.  

 k