In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sarah Richardson about the history of maternal-fetal effects. They discuss why human developmental plasticity is important for intrauterine growth and how this impacts the evolution of post-natal growth. The talk about the importance of Weismann's philosophy of science for maternal health. They mention maternal impressions theories and the complicated history of eugenics with maternal health. They discuss the importance of animal studies to understand maternal-fetal effects and the ongoing emphasis on birth weight. They discuss the unfinished story on epigenetics and many of its challenges along with some pragmatic considerations on maternal-fetal effects.
Sarah Richardson is Professor of the History of Science and of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University. She directs the Harvard GenderSci Lab and her interests are in gender, sexuality, and reproduction. She has been published in many scientific journals and in popular media outlets. Her latest book, The Maternal Imprint: The Contested Science of Maternal-Fetal Effects can be published here. You can also find her work here.
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