Mothers and Children: The Kingdom of God Belongs to Such as These

I recently attended a science and religion conference sponsored by the Midwest Religion and Science Society (MRSS) where the theme for this year was about suffering and trauma, and how it impacts mothers, babies, and generations of people. The speakers at this year’s conference were Dr. Ann Pederson and Dr. Jennifer Gubbels. Dr. Pederson is a Professor of Religion at Augustana University, and she shared that religion, geography and genetics can influence how generations cope with and express the effects of historical trauma, and when it comes to recovery, religion can be both a help and a hindrance in the healing process. Dr. Gubbels is an Associate Professor of Biology at Augustana University, and she talked about health disparities in prenatal care and birth that more often impact marginalized communities. We need to better understand these issues and address them as a society, especially as it pertains to prenatal care and the risk for preterm birth.

Here, I reflect on what I learned at the conference, primarily drawing on Dr. Gubbels work, because it is more closely aligned with my background as a biologist, and because the discussion I led at the conference was in response to her talk. My main takeaway from the conference was that women are strong and resilient—and are made more so by the support of other women around them. Our bodies are wired for survival in the face of stress and trauma, and we see evidence of this in Dr. Gubbels’ case study of Native American women from the Lakota tribe in South Dakota.

The Epigenetics of Preterm Birth

During the conference, Dr. Gubbels shared that trauma and stress do not only affect the mother and her ability to carry her child full-term, but also the fetus itself in ways that can be inherited. While well cushioned and protected, a developing fetus is nonetheless vulnerable. For mothers who experience significant stress and trauma, both directly and indirectly through the traumatic history of their ancestors, heritable changes may be occurring at the epigenetic level.

Epigenetics is a fascinating area of study that has to do with how external factors in our environment, like diet, exercise can affect how our genes work. These factors do not alter the sequence of our DNA directly, but they can change how our DNA is expressed, turning segments called genes, off and on like a light switch in response to things we experience or encounter in our environment. These epigenetic changes may explain some of the health disparities and higher incidences of certain diseases we see in populations who have experienced chronic stress and a history of suffering.

In a recent interview with BioLogos, Dr. Gubbels elaborated:

Consider populations of people in our country who have experienced large amounts of stress on a population level—slavery and racism among African Americans, decolonization and forced attendance at boarding schools for Native Americans—these groups have greater incidences of preterm birth, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, just to name a few. The stress that their ancestors have undergone has been passed on from generation to generation. This ancestral stress and the stressors that they are still experiencing today all affect their health and well-being.

Scientists are only beginning to understand the role of epigenetics in this and how stress and inherited trauma play a role.

Towards Healing and Recovery from Stress and Trauma

There is good news, however. Dr. Gubbels shared that just like trauma and stress can produce heritable changes, these effects can be reversed. In her own research study on Lakota women living on a reservation in South Dakota, Dr. Gubbels saw evidence of resilience emerge. She used Lakota talking circles, an indigenous communal ritual for discussion, for her interviews and data collection. In listening to younger and older women in the tribe, she heard stories of determination and resilience, despite the stressful circumstances in which the women lived, and the burdens of ancestral trauma they carried.

Older women in the tribe recounted growing up in boarding schools and being forced to abandon their culture and assimilate. They regretted the impact this had on their children, but had a desire to heal these broken relationships and bring back the cultural practices of their ancestors, sharing this with the next generation.

The work of Dr. Gubbels and others to make sense of generational health disparities in marginalized communities can help inform a compassionate driven ethic to address them. Dr. Gubbels says that while women are resilient, they are also vulnerable, and need the support of others to have a healthy pregnancy and babies. She says, “the challenge for all of us is to provide a healthy, supportive, and loving environment for pregnant women and new mothers, especially those that are at risk for preterm birth.”

Research has shown that social support like this can be a very effective way to enhance resilience in people who have experienced trauma. When provided to pregnant women who have been in natural disasters, social support can help to prevent epigenetic changes in their children.

We can also educate ourselves, and advocate for the health of women and children. Dr. Gubbels shared the March of Dimes website as a resource, where you can look up how your state scores on a report card for things like, “infant death, social vulnerability, low-risk cesarean births, state efforts on Medicaid expansion and extension, and doula and midwives legislation/policies, among other factors.”