Of the eight and a half million people with autoimmune diseases in this country, nearly 80 percent are women. During pregnancy, a mother and fetus exchange body cells that can persist in one or the other's circulation for years or even decades after birth. Now it seems that this lovely long-term bond can on rare occasions have dire consequences, producing an autoimmune reaction in either the bearer or the born.
Reading this was very difficult. It's now clear to me how I (and my brothers and sisters) may be the reason for my Mother living with one of these auto-immune diseases. Also of course, I'm struggling with the thought that my wife and/or our baby may now be running the same risk. Then again, this is how humanity has survived and reproduced forever, nothing is really different, other than now I'm aware of those risks. Better go read something else...
via Girl Hacker.