Your Child’s Cells Live Within You for Decades
During pregnancy, there is a physiological exchange between mother and fetus through the placenta This transplacental traffic can be unidirectional or bidirectional. The unidirectional transfer involves nutrients, water, electrolytes, oxygen, hormones, and immunoglobulins being transferred from the mother to the fetus and carbon dioxide and catabolism products from the fetus being transferred to the mother. Bidirectional traffic consists of maternal-fetal exchanges of cells and genetic material such as DNA.