How getting pregnant can give you cancer decades later-study finds

From morning sickness to swollen ankles and high blood pressure, pregnancy certainly takes its toll on a woman’s health. But the damage may run deeper than she realizes.

A new study asserts that cells pass from baby to mother during pregnancy – and can linger in the woman’s body for decades. According to scientists, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, arthritis and early menopause could all be triggered or exacerbated by these ‘alien’ cells. Incredibly, they believe some of the cells may be effectively trying to sabotage the mother’s chances of having another baby so the foetus will not have to compete for resources after it is born.

While the concept may seem strange, the US researchers say the phenomenon occurs across the animal kingdom. The Arizona State University team claims that foetal cells are so dynamic that they can even make their way into the mother’s brain. And a woman who has more than one child may have more cells from each of her children in her own body. As a result, we are all ‘chimeras’. In a review of research on the topic, the scientists say the unborn baby’s cells may try to hijack processes that are beneficial to them. For instance, foetal cells may help wounds, including those made during a C-section, heal more quickly.

Those settling in the breast may protect against breast cancer and make it easier for a woman to breastfeed. Others may take root in the thyroid gland, which plays a role in the transfer of heat from mother to baby. This could be harmful to the woman, with studies showing higher levels of foetal cells in women with thyroid cancer. Foetal cells may also aggravate the woman’s immune system, raising her risk of rheumatoid arthritis, the journal BioEssays reports. A spokesman for the researchers said: ‘Early onset menopause could be the result of foetal cell efforts to remove the mother from future child-bearing, in order to secure maximum resources for the foetus and, eventually, the growing child.’

Learning more about these cells could help doctors work out which illnesses a woman is at risk of.

Researcher Athena Aktipis said: ‘It could transform the way we approach, treat and prevent a variety of diseases that affect women, especially new mothers.’

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