As I reflected on Ecclesiastes 4, the verse 12 stopped me in my tracks “a threefold cord is not easily broken.” As I sat with this verse, I visualized an umbilical cord. I kept thinking, “You know what? The umbilical cord is just like a “three-fold” cord.”
A few days prior, I had just had my 20-week ultrasound. As I observed the anatomy scan of my little one, for some reason, the images of the umbilical cord stood out to me. The umbilical cord is actually made of “three” blood vessels, one vein and two arteries, and visually the vessels twist and wrap around each other forming the cord. In my art, I love to reflect on the symbolism of the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord connects the baby to the mother and the mother to the baby. There is a physical, spiritual, and emotional bond between a mother and baby that is so intimate; it “is not easily broken.”
Diving deeper into this thought, I went back to read Ecclesiastes again. This time, verse 9-10 stood out to me, “ It is better therefore that two should be together, than one: for they have the advantage of their society: If one fall he shall be supported by the other: woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to lift him up.” A mother and her baby in the womb have such a unique connection that they actually share an organ, called the placenta. When the placenta is developed, the organ is formed part by the mother’s body and part by the baby’s body. It is one organ that contains both the mother’s and the baby’s DNA. The baby’s umbilical cord is attached to the placenta. The vein in the cord is how the mother’s body can provide oxygen and food to the baby, while the two arteries in the cord helps filter waste from the baby back to placenta. The umbilical cord and placenta are the lifeline for the baby. Two are most definitely better than one, the baby is “supported” and “lifted up” by his mother, but what is even more interesting is how the mother is “supported” and “lifted up” by her baby.
Looking deeper into the science, there is an amazing phenomenon known as microchimerism. Microchimerism is the presence of cells from one individual in another genetically distinct individual. During pregnancy, cells from both the mother and baby pass back and forth through the placenta. As a result, modern science has found that cells of the child can be found in the mother’s blood and all major organs during and decades after pregnancy. There has been strong evidence that suggest that the baby’s cells living on in the mother are protective and act as reparative stem cells. These cells have been found around healing wounds and tumours. Research suggests that these cells aid in tissue repair, stimulate the formation of new blood vessels to injured/diseased structures and even improve immune system function.
Taking this thought even deeper, think about how united Jesus was with his Mother Mary. Jesus chose to come into the world as a baby conceived in Mother Mary’s womb. Mother Mary most definitely had the cells of Jesus within her and Jesus had the cells of Mary within Him during the pregnancy and after. It’s pretty amazing to think about how within Mother Mary’s sinless body, the actual cells of Our Lord Jesus Christ thrived within her throughout her whole life on earth. The union between Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary is so intimate that it draws me to such awe and wonder. The bond between a mother and child is so uniquely beautiful. The connection between a mother and child is like a threefold cord that is not easily broken and two are, most definitely, better than one.
