La epigenetics It is one of the most used names in recent times thanks to assisted reproduction treatments. Surely you have also heard about it and we do not want to talk in too scientific terms but we do want to tell you what epigenetics entails and what it causes for your future pregnancy.
The truth is that it is quite a discovery and it offers us a little light on some points that are really complicated. That of the genetic load It is a topic that interests us all in order for our child to have it, but in some cases it is not possible or as we know it, which is why epigenetics comes into play.
The process of epigenetics
When a woman becomes pregnant with her own eggs, we are clear that said embryo will have a genetic load of the pregnant woman. That is to say, that future baby will have what we know as the genetic load. This translates into a certain physical and psychological resemblance, which makes us see ourselves reflected in our offspring in one way or another.
But sometimes all this is not possible. What is the reason? That the woman cannot have a pregnancy with her own eggs. Then you will have to move on to certain assisted reproduction treatments. One of them is the Egg donation or what is known as the Clothing method. In both, the eggs that the pregnant woman receives are not her own. So the genetic load is not such but that is where epigenetics comes into play.
What is epigenetics really?
It can be defined as a branch of genetics which is having great importance and no wonder. Although it does not modify the genes in a direct way, it can influence the embryo in different ways. Alternating the genetic code which means that the future baby does can take certain traits and even some diseases from the pregnant mother. Another way to explain it is that DNA can undergo some changes and thus genes can be expressed in different ways. How many times have we seen that a baby born from egg donation looks like his mother? This is thanks to the mother and the embryo exchange information during pregnancy and therefore, it can lead to changes that surprise us and for the better.
Epigenetics in reproduction treatments
The biological process will give rise to these modifications, since the embryo will be in charge of taking the proteins and derivatives to facilitate implementation and future development. Sometimes, for a woman, it can be difficult to take the step of betting on a (donated) egg that is not genetically hers. But with the discovery of epigenetics she gives peace of mind because she will know that she can carry more of that pregnant mother than you might really think at first.
On the one hand, egg donation is responsible for placing an egg from one woman in another woman who has not been able to become pregnant with her own eggs for different reasons. But it is also present in the ROPA Method. When two women undergo fertilization treatment: one of them will undergo follicular puncture in order to extract viable eggs, which will be fertilized and placed, through embryo transfer, into the other woman.
There is still little talk about epigenetics but it is vitally important to be able to pass the genetic duel and bet on a new life, even if the egg is not your own. More and more women are taking the step with the firm intention of being mothers: a dream that is getting closer and closer.