Did you leave your genes with Tessy after casual sex?

The spiritual world talks of soul ties. The narrative goes something like this: every person you sleep with (who is not legally married to you) leaves a part of their spirit in you.

This goes both ways and no gender is exempted.

And if findings carried in a 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine hold any truth, then your nightmares of having left a part of you after sleeping with Jane, Joan, Christine, Teresia and Tessy are about to be confirmed.

The team of researchers set forth to determine the cause of male DNA presence in different women. The phenomenon, known medically as male microchimerism, is not strange.

"Although female, it is possible for a woman who has been pregnant with a boy child to have cells with the Y (male) chromosome in their blood stream," says Dr Sikolia Wanyonyi, a foetal medicine specialist at the Aga Khan University Hospital. "A mother and a developing male foetus exchange these cells through the placenta during pregnancy. These cells may persist in the mother's blood stream for ages."

The researchers, however, noticed something strange during their investigations: that male microchimerism was not limited to women who had experienced pregnancy with a male foetus.

The women were categorised into four groups. Group A had only daughters, Group B had spontaneous abortions, Group C had induced abortions, and Group D had never been pregnant.

Male microchimerism results for every group were eight, 22, 57, 10 per cent, respectively.

Even though the prevalence was higher among women who had any type of abortion, even mothers of girls only, women who had never been pregnant showed significant levels of male microchimerism. So, how did they receive cells with the Y chromosomes?

According to the analysis provided by the researchers, microchimerism may occur in any of the following scenarios: unrecognised spontaneous abortion, vanished male twin, an older brother transferred by the maternal circulation, or ... wait for this, sexual intercourse!

Bingo. That explains the presence of male cells in women who have never had sons! Really? Not quite.

Sikolia says male cells cannot cross into the blood stream of a woman – unless it is through blood transfusion.

"If that kind of a thing happens then it is outside what we know currently," admits Sikolia.

The good news about microchimerism (involving pregnancy) is that the foetal cells, which are stem cells, can act as the mother's protection against autoimmune diseases, says the doctor.

But more importantly, Sikolia says that it is important for both men and women to maintain one sexual partner, for in case the couple will conceive, the baby is unlikely to be affected from the time of conception since.

"The woman's body gets used to semen of only her partner and hence if she conceives, her body accepts the pregnancy. The case may not be same with a different man other than the one she is used to," says Sikolia.

 And while Sikolia says there is no current proof that male microchimerism can result from sexual intercourse, he refuses to lock it out as a possibility, for "it may be proven someday."

The spiritual world talks of soul ties. The narrative goes something like this: every person you sleep with (who is not legally married to you) leaves a part of their spirit in you.

This goes both ways and no gender is exempted.

And if findings carried in a 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine hold any truth, then your nightmares of having left a part of you after sleeping with Jane, Joan, Christine, Teresia and Tessy are about to be confirmed.

The team of researchers set forth to determine the cause of male DNA presence in different women. The phenomenon, known medically as male microchimerism, is not strange.

"Although female, it is possible for a woman who has been pregnant with a boy child to have cells with the Y (male) chromosome in their blood stream," says Dr Sikolia Wanyonyi, a foetal medicine specialist at the Aga Khan University Hospital. "A mother and a developing male foetus exchange these cells through the placenta during pregnancy. These cells may persist in the mother's blood stream for ages."

The researchers, however, noticed something strange during their investigations: that male microchimerism was not limited to women who had experienced pregnancy with a male foetus.

The women were categorised into four groups. Group A had only daughters, Group B had spontaneous abortions, Group C had induced abortions, and Group D had never been pregnant.

Male microchimerism results for every group were eight, 22, 57, 10 per cent, respectively.

Even though the prevalence was higher among women who had any type of abortion, even mothers of girls only, women who had never been pregnant showed significant levels of male microchimerism. So, how did they receive cells with the Y chromosomes?

According to the analysis provided by the researchers, microchimerism may occur in any of the following scenarios: unrecognised spontaneous abortion, vanished male twin, an older brother transferred by the maternal circulation, or ... wait for this, sexual intercourse!

Bingo. That explains the presence of male cells in women who have never had sons! Really? Not quite.

Sikolia says male cells cannot cross into the blood stream of a woman – unless it is through blood transfusion.

"If that kind of a thing happens then it is outside what we know currently," admits Sikolia.

The good news about microchimerism (involving pregnancy) is that the foetal cells, which are stem cells, can act as the mother's protection against autoimmune diseases, says the doctor.

But more importantly, Sikolia says that it is important for both men and women to maintain one sexual partner, for in case the couple will conceive, the baby is unlikely to be affected from the time of conception since.

"The woman's body gets used to semen of only her partner and hence if she conceives, her body accepts the pregnancy. The case may not be same with a different man other than the one she is used to," says Sikolia.

 And while Sikolia says there is no current proof that male microchimerism can result from sexual intercourse, he refuses to lock it out as a possibility, for "it may be proven someday."