Women are Chimeras

chimera :kʌɪˈmɪərə

A noun

1. (in Greek mythology) it is a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. any mythical animal formed from parts of various animals

2. A thing which is hoped for but is illusory or impossible to achieve.

3. An organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues, formed by processes such as fusion of early embryos, grafting, or mutation.

a Microchimera is a “small mosaic”

What is Microchimerism?

There is a biological phenomenon in which a woman absorbs and then harbors for her entire life a significant number of cells that originated in a different individual. This means she contains cells other than the 23 chromosomes of genetic material from each of her biological parents which created her as an embryo at conception. Almost every tissue in the females body, most significantly within the brain, will be a host of a foreign genetic material, this is a biological defense mechanism that has been known to exist within women since our inception. This mechanism is called Microchimerism. Only very recently did Science acknowledge this mechanism, however woman acquiring her partners cells is mentioned in ancient texts such as the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament, one example is :

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

Microchimerism is defined as the occurrence of cells that originate from another individual and are therefore genetically distinct from the cells of the host. There are different ways that this can happen naturally (i.e. without medical procedures, such as blood transfusions, organ transplants, etc.) :

1. Pregnancy (of any length)

2. An abortion (whether chemical, spontaneous, or induced)

3. A male twin that was absorbed by the mother’s body

4. An older brother transferred by the maternal circulation (the cells of the older brother continue to live on in the mom, so when she has her next child that younger sibling will retain cells of the older sibling)

5. Sexual intercourse (this is still being scientifically researched)

Just a little bit about Sex and Reclaiming the feminine…

Not only does this invite us to consider how a mother binds to her off spring long after the actual birth, it also illuminates the society’s need to reflect on selection of sexual partners, and our relationship to sexual intercourse in general. It is hypothesized by some that after ejaculation during sexual intercourse, cells from sperm can pass through the blood barrier of the uterus and later be found in the woman’s brain. This idea has come up because it is still unknown how the brains of women who have never been pregnant, nor have older biological brothers, are still being found with male cells. We could look at this as a damaging form of Michrochimerism. If it’s possible and true that women absorb sperm from every partner it begs the question: Are we becoming each sexual partner we’ve ever had? I get it, that’s deeply triggering for many people, however, there is a reason you found your way here, and more than likely it was to expand your awareness.

A large majority of the population are victims of the insidious demoralization of procreation and childbirth. I have worked with and taught over 1,000 women and men at this point. The conditioning we have all experienced by Hollywood and other outlets have led us to believe that birth is dangerous, messy, painful and that sex is not about conscious procreation, it’s solely about pleasure, and testing the waters until you find “the right one” who sticks. Those who consciously procreate and treat sex as a sacred act are a very small percentage of our population. Sadly, the idealization of the Samantha Jones lifestyle only leaves women feeling empty, disposable and more deeply lodged in low self-worth. Reclaiming femininity and sexual empowerment, doesn’t actually involve allowing multiple men to release their semen into you without any plans of making you his wife. Reclamation of femininity and empowerment actually looks more like integrating the shadow parts of ourselves, healing our mother and father wounds, speaking our needs with authenticity and mastering nervous system regulation.

Back to Michrochimerism

Although our understanding of this mechanism may be biblical, or culturally and spiritually accepted, it really only began to get some airtime roughly 70 years ago. Why is that? … a scientific study was done! Back in 2012 a study titled, Male Microchimerism, noted that after dissecting a number of deceased women’s brains, 63% of the brains (37 out of 59) had male microchimerism present. While it was touted by many a media source that this was a huge discovery, in fact, it has long been known that a large percentage of women eventually carry living male cell lines in their bodies. For example, a study in 1969, published in The Lancet, showed that 70% (21 of 30) pregnant women, 19 of whom were pregnant with boys and 2 others having previously had boys, were found to have male microchimerism. This Oxford Academic study looks at Michrochimerism through single cell analysis.

We do know that changes in BBB (blood brain barrier) permeability occur during pregnancy and may therefore provide a unique opportunity for the establishment of microchimerism in the woman’s brain. The female body is an amazing organism, an alchemist. All this being said, the cells of a woman’s baby stay in her brain and body long after the birth. Her child is with her always, even after her last breath. Could this be a contributor to why women have breastmilk let downs when her baby cries for milk in another location? Are the cells talking? Are the cells of her son living in her brain acting as a messenger for his needs and experiences?

Because women are Chimeras and not men, males do not have this same super power or mechanism. Men do not have uteri, become pregnant and grow placentas therefore we do not see this same phenomenon reversed.

Could this mechanism save a woman’s life?

This study suggests that lifelong persistence of fetal cells in maternal tissues may even explain why women live longer than men. A variety of fetal cells, including stem cells, cross the placenta during normal pregnancy to enter maternal blood. Initially the finding of these fetal cells were implicated in autoimmune disease, however, there is no conclusive evidence that fetal cells actually cause autoimmune disease. Subsequent reports routinely found microchimeric cells in healthy tissues and in non-autoimmune disease carrying women.

One might ask why the mother’s body doesn’t reject these fetal cells and thats because the same placental immune suppression that is needed to maintain the allogeneic pregnancy also helps establish microchimerism. Research has been finding that injured tissues in the mother might produce signals that mobilize fetal stem cells from the pregnancy reservoir and stimulate the differentiation of engrafted stem cells into specialized cells! So when the mother sustains an injury or her terrain is compromised the fetal cells she acquired from her previous pregnancy transform into specialized cells to assist with repair. Talk about caring for our moms. There is ongoing research being done that shows microchimeric fetal cells are drawn to sites of skin injury. Wound healing in the adult after pregnancy may become more fetal-like, given the presence of fetal cells in the adult wound. This overlaps with the use of placental cells, umbilical cord stem cells, “after birth” and fetal matter being used as treatment in sports medicine, plastic surgery and cancer treatment.

Ultimately this beautiful biological mechanism is therapeutic and connects us even more deeply to our mothers and our children. Knowing parts of you live in the brain and tissue of your mother is quite powerful. Fetal microchimerism contributes to the mother's ability to repair damaged or unhealthy tissue, which may be of relevance for long-term maternal health, regulation of aging and control of longevity. The topic of microchimerism gives us a lot to consider, hopefully bringing a deeper consciousness back into conception, pregnancy, birthing and parenting.

Next we can consider the Michrochimerism that takes place during breastfeeding.

Warmly,

Eyla