Biology
Your mother still carries a piece of you
Yes. During pregnancy, some of a baby's cells cross the placenta into the mother and settle in her tissues, where they can survive for decades. A 2012 study found fetal cells in the brains of 63% of the women examined, the oldest aged 94. A piece of the child stays behind.
Sources & further reading
PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science)Male Microchimerism in the Human Female BrainThe study that found the child's cells in the brains of 63% of the women examined, the oldest aged 94.Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science)Bearing Sons Can Alter Your MindA report on the discovery that a child's cells can reach the mother's brain, and that cells cross both ways during pregnancy.The ScientistA Stranger to Oneself: The Mystery of Fetal MicrochimerismAn overview of how the child's cells travel to the mother's wounds, and the open debate over whether they help heal her or feed autoimmune disease.The Lancet (Elsevier)Presence of fetal DNA in maternal plasma and serumThe 1997 study showing the baby's DNA floats in the mother's blood, which is what a routine prenatal blood test reads.
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