I Study Pathogens and Pregnancy. Here's What I Know About Covid-19.

[PatSeg]

More than 60 years ago, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist Peter Medawar posed what has become known as the immunological paradox of pregnancy.

The fetus, Dr. Medawar argued, is like a semiforeign transplant because half of its genes come from the father. Therefore, the mother’s immune system and the fetus must be locked in conflict. One of Dr. Medawar’s theories for why the mother’s body does not reject the pregnancy was that the maternal immune system is inhibited. As a result, the concept of pregnancy as an immune-suppressed condition was introduced to scientists, and it has influenced thinking about pregnancy among doctors and the public ever since.

But subsequent research, including my own, has led to the development of a different, more optimistic perspective on how the pregnant woman’s immune system and the fetus interact. Rather than threatening the fetus, the maternal immune system plays a critical role in the success of pregnancy, particularly in its early stages. Yes, a mother’s immune system is changed during pregnancy. But it is stronger in many ways, not weaker. The old science has led to bad advice, especially during pandemics.

As a former colleague and I predicted a decade ago, the generalization that pregnant women are immune-suppressed and therefore at a higher risk for infections not only is misleading but also “prevents the determination of adequate guidelines for treating pregnant women during pandemics.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/opinion/pregnant-immunity-covid-vaccine.html?algo=combo_lda_channelsize5_unique_edimp_fye_step50_diversified&block=1&campaign_id=142&emc=edit_fory_20211007&fellback=false&imp_id=804301423&instance_id=42288&nl=for-you&nlid=144275770&rank=1®i_id=144275770&req_id=701590741&segment_id=70945&surface=for-you-email-wym&user_id=9300c9e86795a856411ac8bf084cff8b&variant=0_combo_lda_channelsize5_unique_edimp_step50_diversified

[lark]

1. In some cases the body does try to get rid of the "invader".

I had that issue with my son, they kept telling me I had miscarried, but every time when the sonogram was done, he was still alive and well. My body was just doing terrible and trying to get rid of him. It was awful. I was in bed for 4 months & basically couldn't move or even sit up for most of the time. Finally at 4 months I stabilized and was able to carry him to term.

Doctors said this happens more often with women who were on birth control pills for a long time prior to the pregnancy, like me. So beware, there are some longer term effects for those type of meds.

[PatSeg]

4. Oh, how awful that must have been for you

I am so sorry you had to go through that, but glad to hear that you were able to carry your son full term. I really didn't realize that the mother's body could treat a fetus as an "invader".

I didn't know that about the birth control pill. I was only on it for a couple of months and ended up hospitalized for a month due to blood clots, so I never knew the long term effects fortunately.

[lagomorph777]

2. Vax or do not vax?

[PatSeg]

5. They definitely recommend vax

for pregnant women. The disease would be far more harmful to mother and baby. Also the baby ends up with some immunity when it is born if the mother is vaccinated.

[ARPad95]

3. The one condition I know about that causes a mother's immune system to attack the fetus is RhD

Last edited Fri Oct 8, 2021, 01:11 PM - Edit history (1)

incompatibility. Specifically, the immune system of an RhD negative mother who has been sensitized to RhD positive blood (most likely due to a previous RhD positive pregnancy) may attack an RhD positive fetus and result in hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. The only treatment to prevent an RhD negative woman from becoming sensitized is anti-RhD immunoglobulin.

https://www.rhogam.com/

A team of scientists were convinced that an unconventional theory known as passive antibody immunosuppression could help prevent Rh sensitization. The idea is to provide the body with passive antibodies so that it doesn't produce its own antibodies which would result in a more active immune response. If passive Rh antibodies were given to an Rh-negative mother, it would reduce her body's attempt to produce active antibodies against her baby.7-9 In a way, passive antibodies "fool" a mother's immune system into thinking it has already produced a response.

[PatSeg]

6. I knew that at one time

but had forgotten it. When I was young, couples applying for a marriage license in the state where I lived had to get blood tests to see if one partner was Rh negative. I don't know when it changed.