Fact
Mothers carry their children’s cells for decades
Cells from a pregnancy cross into the mother and stay - sometimes for the rest of her life.
Fetal cells migrate across the placenta and lodge in maternal tissue, a phenomenon called microchimerism. They have been found in the blood, skin, liver and even the brain of women decades after giving birth. Whether they help repair tissue, contribute to autoimmune disease, or both, is still being worked out.