The immune system’s role in reshaping the body during pregnancy

A review in Science proposes that pregnancy reprograms maternal immunity to help coordinate changes across organs, rather than simply suppressing immune activity to tolerate a fetus. It examines immune cells’ roles in uterine blood-vessel remodeling, breast development and metabolic adaptation. The authors say much of the mechanistic evidence comes from animal models, and questions remain about how those findings translate to humans and which changes persist after birth.