A new study states that pregnancy would protect women against rheumatoid arthritis, but that this protection would fade over the years.
According to the researchers, women who have had at least one child would be 39% less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, a more common disease in women that usually appears in reproductive age, which attacks the joints, causing inflammation, pain and progressive damage.
It is not the first time that pregnancy is related to the disease. Previous research already pointed to an improvement in arthritis in women during pregnancy, especially in the third month. It has also been linked to breastfeeding.
Evidently, something is activated in the maternal immune system during pregnancy that would help prevent the ailment.
The truth is that, according to the results of the study, women who had had a child in the last five years were 71 percent less likely to develop the disease, while those who had had it more than 15 years ago, were only 24 less prone compared to those who had not been mothers.
It is believed that such protection is due to fetal cells, which pass to the mother during pregnancy and remain in her body for decades, somehow immunize the woman against the disease, although this protection is weakened as Years go by
These fetal cells that pass to the mother contain genetic information from both parents and could carry genes that could modify in women the possibility of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
It would be very interesting to continue investigating in this regard to find the true causes of this protection against the disease during pregnancy.
What is clear to us with this type of research is that the transformation, both external and internal, that occurs in the woman's body when pregnant is amazing.
