We all have learned how the maternal experiences and struggles during pregnancy profoundly influence the unborn child. From nutritional deficiency to emotional stress, every choice and challenge shapes baby development. These invisible connections between biology and love remind us how the mother's journey is deep-rooted in relation to the lifelong health of her offspring.

Newborn health has been the focus of research in medicine and science for quite some time now, as the early years of life usually lay the groundwork for long-term health. New research has begun to reveal just how maternal factors, such as the effects of the X chromosome and vitamin D levels during pregnancy, shape the health trajectory of a newborn. These findings unravel the intricate interplay between genetics, epigenetics, and maternal contributions in brain health and development, bringing new insights into how we approach neonatal care.

How Does the Maternal DNA Work?

The maternal X chromosome, teeming with genetic material, plays a pivotal role, perhaps impairing memory and cognitive abilities over time. Recent research indicates a significant correlation between the DNA of a mother and her baby's brain health and aging process. Studies on mice indicate that maternal genes may accelerate biological aging in the hippocampus—a brain region crucial for learning.

Moreover, silenced genes on the maternal X chromosome may have keys to cognitive development. When combined with health factors related to the mother, such as the vitamin D level during pregnancy, this complex genetic dance underscores how a mother's DNA profoundly shapes the lifelong health trajectory of her baby. An interesting study has found that the X chromosome inherited from the mother could hasten brain aging in offspring, thus increasing the susceptibility of diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Though women have two X chromosomes and men have one X and one Y, the genetic material of the X chromosome is very important. Mutations or changes in this chromosome can greatly affect brain health.

Researchers have found that in females, one X chromosome is randomly inactivated in each cell, a phenomenon that may explain some of the individual differences in brain health outcomes. Although women typically live longer and have a lower overall dementia rate than their male counterparts, Alzheimer's disease disproportionately affects females, often raising questions about the underlying genetic mechanism.

Dena Dubal and Abdulai-Saiku led research into the impact of maternal X chromosomes on brain health. They found that female mice with an active maternal X chromosome showed accelerated biological aging in the hippocampus, a region of the brain important for learning and memory. These mice also showed worse cognitive abilities as they aged compared to those with contributions from both maternal and paternal X chromosomes.

Interestingly, the cognitive abilities of aged female mice improved when researchers used CRISPR gene-editing technology to activate silenced genes on the maternal X chromosome. This finding underscores the importance of the genetic expression of the maternal X chromosome in influencing brain health.

It thus provokes the mind with such a question, where maternal genetic contribution is actually found shaping brain development and aging in human. Should similar mechanisms prevail, targeted therapies may prevent the decline that typically accompanies the passing of age to improve general health of the brain.

How Even Vitamin D Is A Critical Factor in Neonatal Health?

Another dimension of maternal influence over the health of newborns is vitamin D level in pregnancy. Deficiency of vitamin D has been one of the most common problems, especially among pregnant women in Asia. Several adverse health conditions have also been correlated with vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D's influence extends beyond its well-known role in bone health. Emerging evidence highlights its epigenetic effects, such as programming fetal development and shaping immune cell function. One critical epigenetic mechanism is DNA methylation, which predicts biological age and reflects developmental processes.

A Japanese study published in Nutrients looked into the impact of maternal vitamin D on epigenetic gestational age acceleration-a biomarker for neonatal and adult health. The results found that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may affect the development of a fetus, placing newborns at risk for infections, obesity, and other health-related issues later in life.

Given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, these findings highlight the importance of intensive prenatal care, including monitoring and supplementation of maternal vitamin D levels. Correction of this deficiency may have a significant role in improving neonatal outcomes and laying the foundation for healthier adulthood.

Also Read: Is Father Equally Responsible For Baby's Health?

Role of X Chromosomes in Baby's Brain Development

X chromosomes have long been recognized as critical to brain health. Previous research has linked mutations in the X chromosome to intellectual disabilities and cognitive impairments. For instance, women with Turner Syndrome, who have only one X chromosome, often experience cognitive challenges.

This genetic influence might also explain differences in cognitive abilities, verbal memory, and susceptibility to brain disorders between sexes. The maternal X chromosome, as highlighted in recent studies, appears to be particularly influential in shaping these outcomes.

The intricate relationship between maternal factors and newborn health underscores the importance of a comprehensive approach to prenatal care. Key takeaways include:

Genetic Contributions

Maternal genes, especially the X chromosome, may therefore play a large role in cognitive health and aging.

Nutritional Interventions

Fixing maternal deficiency in vitamin D may mitigate potential risks associated with developmental and long-term health concerns.

Future Research

Further research on the contribution of mothers to their health, furthered by the development of newer technologies such as CRISPR, promises to bring significant advancements in neonatal and adult healthcare.

Understanding the profound implications of maternal health on newborns changes the focus of neonatal care. From genetic effects to the significance of nutrients, such as vitamin D, research emphasizes the demand for an all-inclusive approach that is more science-based about maternal and neonatal health. As researchers explore the links of maternal factors in long-term wellbeing, healthcare facilities around the globe must evolve towards better support systems, education programs, and intervention strategies for would-be mothers.

This developing field of research reminds us that the journey to a healthy life begins long before birth, in the intricate bond between mother and child.

The maternal X chromosome affects cognition and brain ageing in female mice. Nature (2025)

Maternal Vitamin D Deficiency Is a Risk Factor for Infants’ Epigenetic Gestational Age Acceleration at Birth in Japan: A Cohort Study.Nutrients 2025

Maternal vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy can be effective against severe disease and hospitalization from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in babies, according to a large study.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, revealed that COVID vaccination during pregnancy can protect the children against hospitalization for COVID during the first six months of life.

Amid continuing COVID cases, babies under six months old continue to have one of the highest rates of hospitalization — one in five — due to the COVID virus in the US, as per a 2024 study.

As currently no vaccines against COVID are available for neonates and babies, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends maternal vaccination during pregnancy.

Maternal COVID Vaccination Prevented Other Infections

The retrospective study included 146,031 infants born in Norway between March 2021 and December 2023. Of these, 37, 013 (25 percent) were exposed to COVID-19 vaccination in utero.

The findings showed that babies exposed to the vaccine before birth were no more likely to visit the hospital for overall infections (of any kind) than those whose mothers did not get vaccinated in pregnancy.

However, infants whose mothers were vaccinated were about half as likely to visit the hospital specifically for COVID in their first two months of life compared to babies not exposed to the vaccine in utero.

Among 3 to 5-month-old babies, the risk of a hospital visit for COVID was 24 percent lower in those exposed to the vaccine, but the vaccine's protection against COVID wore off by the time infants were older than 6 months.

Importantly, the mothers' vaccine also prevented the risk of other infections in children.

"There is often an increased risk for a subsequent infection after a viral infection, such as an increased risk of pneumonia after influenza infection, so we wanted to study whether protection against COVID-19 could influence the risk of other infections as well," said lead author Dr. Helena Niemi Eide, from the University of Oslo in Norway, the NPR reported.

"But we found that COVID vaccination in pregnancy protected the infant against COVID and had no apparent effect on other infections," Eide added.

Maternal Vaccine Recommendation in the US

Last week, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reiterated its recommendation for COVID vaccination during pregnancy.

Despite changes in federal vaccine recommendations due to the US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine stance, the ACOG urged COVID vaccination for

• people who are pregnant,
• recently pregnant,
• considering pregnancy,
• lactating.

Also read: US Judge Blocks RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Schedule, Says Government Ignored Science

"Accumulated safety data from millions of administered doses show no increased risk of adverse maternal, fetal, or neonatal outcomes associated with COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy,” the ACOG said.

When 36-year-old mom Angela Sanford, from Fort Mill, SC, went for an appointment for a Pap smear five years after she had her first child in 2008, her nurse midwife, who she has never seen before asked her a question she did not expect. "Who stitched you up after your first birth?"

Speaking to Healthline, Sanford shared that she just started crying when the nurse said, "This is not right." Sanford said that this was the first time she ever heard the term 'husband stitch'. Sanford was told that her stich was "too tight" by the hospitalist who managed her after her first delivery.

Also Read: US CDC Warns Of New Immune-Evasive COVID Variant In 23 Countries

“He gave you what some people call a husband stitch,” Sanford recalled the midwife telling her.

“I couldn’t connect in my mind why it would be called that. My midwife said, ‘They think that some men find it more pleasurable,’” she recalled. “My husband has been worried about me and fearful of hurting me. He would never have asked for this.”

A 'Husband Stich' - What Is It?

During vaginal delivery, a woman undergoes perineal tears or vaginal lacerations which means tears between the vaginal opening and anus. This causes pain, and requires stitches for grades two and higher. It also takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal. Women can experience from first to fourth degree tears.

Sometimes, a surgical incision is made in the perineum during childbirth to enlarge the vaginal opening, this is called an episiotomy. However, it is not medically necessary or a routine procedure, unless it is a case of emergency.

Stiches are required in such cases that dissolves on its own. However, a 'husband stitch', also known as "daddy stitch" is an unethical practice where an extra stitch is given during the repair process that 'tightens the vagina' to increase sexual pleasure for a male partner. While it is considered a medical malpractice, it is still done to women after vaginal delivery.

Many women face difficulty after the extra stich is given to them. In Sanford's case, she felt "excruciating" pain during sex afterwards.

Read: Romanticization And The Silent Dismissal Of Women’s Pain

When Objectifying Women's Bodies Is Made A Medical Practice

Stephanie Tillman, CNM, a certified nurse midwife at the University of Illinois at Chicago and blogger at The Feminist Midwife told Healthline: “The fact that there is even a practice called the husband stitch is a perfect example of the intersection of the objectification of women’s bodies and healthcare. As much as we try to remove the sexualization of women from appropriate obstetric care, of course the patriarchy is going to find its way in there."

Harkins, 37, said that she "kind of" laughed it off when an "old, crusty Army doctor" overstitched her so she could give her husband more pleasure. In many cases, doctors do it as a routine practice without even being told by anyone. “I couldn’t even process [it], but I kind of laughed, like what else do you do when someone says that? I had just had a baby. I didn’t think much about it because the whole birth experience was so traumatizing, but now that I think about it differently, the implications of that are just crazy.”

Episiotomy Is An Excuse For 'Husband Stitch'

Dr Robert Barbieri, chair of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told the Huffington Post that doctors were taught in the 50s and 60s that "routine episiotomy was good for women".

“What they thought is that if they did a routine episiotomy, they’d have a chance to repair it and that during the repair, they could actually create a better perineum than if they hadn’t done it. The idea [was] that we could ‘tighten things up,’” explains doctor.

However, a 2005 systematic review in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no benefit to routine episiotomy use. A 2017 Cochrane review “could not identify any benefits of routine episiotomy for the baby or the mother.” In 2016, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended that clinicians “prevent and manage” delivery lacerations through strategies like massage and warm compresses rather than making cuts on the perineum. Yet, this practice still continues inside the labor rooms.

While you may be buying fast-fashion clothes that are easy on your pocket and also give your children trendy looks, a new study highlights the risk of being laced with a highly toxic ingredient: lead.

The preliminary research, based on lab tests of several shirts from different retailers in the US, found that all the samples exceeded the country’s federal regulatory lead limits.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission currently has a 100 parts per million (ppm) lead limit for children's products like toys and clothing.

"I started to see many articles about lead in clothing from fast fashion, and I realized not too many parents knew about the issue," said Kamila Deavers, principal investigator of the study, at Marian University in the US.

Deavers began the study after her young daughter’s lab reports showed elevated levels of lead in her blood from toy coatings.

How was study conducted?

The team tested 11 shirts that spanned the rainbow—red, pink, orange, yellow, gray, and blue. All brightly colored fabrics, particularly reds and yellows, showed higher levels of lead compared to more muted tones.

"We saw that the shirts we tested were all over the allowed limit for lead of 100 ppm," said Priscila Espinoza, from Marina.

The researchers explained that some manufacturers use lead (II) acetate as an inexpensive way to help dyes stick to the materials and produce bright, long-lasting color.

Children At Greater Risk

The researchers found the risk is particularly higher among younger kids as they tend to playfully suck or chew their clothes during play.

"Even briefly chewing these fabrics could expose children to dangerous lead levels,” they found in the study, to be presented at the forthcoming meeting of the American Chemical Society.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead exposure can lead to behavior problems, brain and central nervous system damage, as well as other negative health effects in children.

The agency considers children under six years old to be most at risk from exposure. Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in:

• Behavior and learning problems
• Lower IQ and Hyperactivity
• Slowed growth
• Hearing Problems
• Anemia

The researchers also pointed out safer alternatives to lead-based dyeing agents that already exist. These include natural and less harmful substances such as:

• Plant-based tannins (e.g., oak bark, pomegranate peel)
• Rosemary
• Alum.