I just fired off an e-mail to the "Contact Us" link on the website. I'll post their reply, if I end up getting one. I said that I was concerned about the accuracy of the statement, considering it is very basic medical and nursing knowledge that maternal circulation and fetal circulation are separate and that the blood supply of each one is unique and do not mingle.
I suspect it has something to do with oversimplifying reality in order to impress upon young pregnant ladies that whatever they consume, their babies are consuming the same things. If you introduce the concept of the placenta being a "barrier" to a pregnant teen who is smoking crack for example, they may not be as motivated to quit as they might be if they believe (even via a kind of "Theocratic War Strategy") that they are harming their babies by continuing the behaviour.
I had understood that the placenta was a barrier but that some things did pass thru..... example that the Society uses is albumin, I think. I can't remember without looking up the article. But when blood cells die, the kidney of the baby can't get rid of it for the baby, so don't they go out via the placenta so the mother can get rid of the dead blood cells for the fetus? Something like that....
Anyway, whatever substance passes thru the placenta is a component of whole blood which then led the Society to change their view on some medical therapies. Now JW's can accept components of blood but still aren't able to accept whole blood (RBC's, WBC's, plasma).
I had understood that the placenta was a barrier but that some things did pass thru..... example that the Society uses is albumin, I think. I can't remember without looking up the article. But when blood cells die, the kidney of the baby can't get rid of it for the baby, so don't they go out via the placenta so the mother can get rid of the dead blood cells for the fetus? Something like that....
Actually when fetal red blood cells "die" the baby's liver produces enzymes that breaks them down into waste products. Those that can be excreted by the circulatory system 'filter' to the mother's blood stream via the placenta. The bulk - which is comprised of by-products of hemoglobin, including a pigment called bilirubin - collects in the baby's bowels and make up the black tarry substance called meconium that fills the baby's diapers in the first few days following birth.
By the way, babies can and do urinate in utero. One thing that is checked on a prenatal ultrasound (sonogram) is whether the baby's ureters - the tubes that take urine from the kidneys to the bladder - are distended, which is a condition known as hydronephrosis (hydro = water; nephros = kidney; osis = condition). It usually is not a problem following delivery, but it is followed up, and babies are checked and observed to make sure that they can urinate.
I remember tho that the bilirubin left the fetus via the mother. Since they are dead RBC's they need to leave the body, the baby can't rid itself of it, so the mother does it for the baby.
I think also they can test the amniotic fluid for the presence of bilirubin to see the severity of the Rh-incompatibility between maternal and fetal blood. So I don't know why the bilirubin would be in the amnio fluid????
The fact that bilirubin left the baby via the placenta was one of the major factors in the Society changing its view on whether or not JWs could accept blood fractions. This is a natural occurence between 2 separate individuals with 2 separate blood systems yet they do share somethings naturally.....and God supposedly made us this way, so then it would be ok to share some blood components with others.
Thanks for the update Scully and sorry for the confusion - I didn't get what you told me when I orginally read your post. However, being identical twins does not mean they are identical. And in fact they are not truly identical at all including in their make up of their blood. I will publish something on this when I get back to work.
As for the other topic. Yes the society does use albumin and yes, whole bood does NOT naturally pass from mother to fetus or fetus to mother. However, both fetal nucleated red blood cells and white blood cells (which make up whole blood and are banned by the WTS) naturally pass from fetus to mother and do live in the receiver. Also some of the mothers cells do pass the barrier to the fetus.
I urge all to read the article at AJWRB already posted and go to your nearest medical library after you search medline.
