The bond of life between the baby and the mother: Umbilical cord

The placenta continues to develop until the baby becomes 18 months old. Until this time the hormonal support necessary for the baby to cling to the mother’s womb is provided by ovaries. Later on this task is undertaken by placenta. Umbilical cord, the long cord connecting the baby to the placenta, has three veins. These veins can be considered as three separate channels. One of these veins is the belly vein; by means of this vein the embryo does not suffocate although it remains in an environment full of liquid and its lungs are full water. Although it does not have a digestive system and can’t eat anything, it does not die of hunger. The other two channels transport the blood loaded with carbondioxide and wastes produced by the embryo to the placenta.

By means of its strong and flexible structure the umbilical cord hardly gets stuck or becomes tangled. This is important in terms of not having any obstruction in carrying the blood. This aside, the flexible structurue of the cordon has the most proper shape that enables the baby to move.
 

The only machine that can estimate the changing needs of the embryo and can meet these needs perfectly is the placenta. Cells on the outermost layer of the placenta form some kind of a filter between the mother’s veins and the embryo. This filter, for instance, lets the entrance of nutriments while it hinders the elements of the immune system. It is also cells that make up the placenta. How do these cells know the needs of embryo? How do they distinguish the substances the embryo needs from millions of other molecules? Who is the one who grants this superior wisdom to a piece of flesh called placenta and the cells making up the placenta? It is Almighty Allah Who creates all the measures needed for the survival of the embryo and establishes a system according to this in the body. Allah creates from nothing and He creates in every way. In one verse of the Qur’an Allah relates that He creates everything so that His slaves can ponder and take lessons from them:
 

In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people’s benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky – by which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about in it creatures of every kind – and the varying direction of the winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there are Signs for people who use their intellect. (Surat al-Baqara, 164)