“A New Life”

Some time ago, an article came to my attention describing the birth of a baby. Like many of you, I had always assumed that there was some mechanism in the mother that triggered the process of labor. But that’s not true. The fascinating real story is the same…whether we’re talking about a human baby or a cow and her calf.

At a very precise moment nine months after conception, a hormone leaves the unborn fetus’ brain. It travels across the placenta, enters the maternal circulation, and makes its way to the mother’s pituitary gland. Although this hormone is a very complex chemical, its message is quiet simple: I am ready, start the delivery process. My lungs have matured enough to breath on my own, my heart is strong enough to assume control, my gastrointestinal tract is prepared to process food, and my brain is eager to start learning about this world and environment I will live in. My ten trillion cells are poised to work together.

So it is the unborn fetus, not the mother, who makes this decision. Then, the mother and unborn fetus orchestrate the journey.

This journey is often cited as the most dangerous moment in the developing mammal’s life. Indeed it might be, yet every aspect of the process is well-coordinated, prearranged, rehearsed for millennia, and designed to bring a new life into being. Even the seams in the fetus’ skull bones have not yet fused, so that its unusually large head will be pliable enough to make it through the birth canal. As the process unfolds, the adrenal glands even add a blast of stress hormones to help the fetus cope with the stress.

The new-born baby will not breathe until it has cleared the birth canal. Anything sooner would lead to certain suffocation. It also will not tarry too long. Rising carbon dioxide levels and falling oxygen concentration will prompt that first breath. Otherwise, there could easily be permanent brain damage. The inner working of the new-born knows precisely when to breathe, how deeply to breath, and how to clear the debris inhaled from the amniotic sac.

Moments before the mother and new born baby completely disconnect, the new born receives a last-minute blood transfusion from the umbilical cord. The placenta, which has been purposefully storing nutrients for this moment, infuses extra nourishment. And there is evidence that the fetus sends some of its own stem cells into the mother’s blood stream. These newly-discovered microchimera stem cells seem to be purposefully left behind to help maintain the mother’s health. The newly born babies’ survival might depend on it.

It is a beautifully choreographed moment; one that never fails to move me.