Will a baby be born on Mars? you may be facing difficult times

In a perfect example of the dangers of technological optimism, Elon Musk recently declared that he intends to create a self-sustaining habitat for 1 million people on Mars over the next 30 years. But few people talk about the elephant in the room. “Self-reliance” means a woman gets pregnant on Mars, gives birth, and somehow manages to avoid dying.

On a planet with breathable air, global supply chains, hospitals and medical professionals, UNICEF reports that 287,000 women were lost to childbirth-related deaths in 2020. The majority of these deaths occurred in areas with poor access to maternal care. For example, in 2020 in the United States, approximately 21 women per 100,000 died from childbirth-related causes. In countries such as Chad, Nigeria and South Sudan, the number exceeds 1,000 per 100,000 people. And these only died within six weeks postpartum, beyond which morbidity continues to rise. So let’s think about a place like Mars. It is 225 million kilometers from Earth, has 40% of Earth’s gravity, little protection from cosmic radiation, and is exposed to global toxic dust storms. How do you think these female space pioneers will fare?

Since only about 15 percent of astronauts have ever been female, there is currently no data on pregnancy in space, and little data on female astronauts overall. On Earth, if you have intercourse at the right time under ideal conditions, you have an approximately 25% chance of becoming pregnant. But maybe not Possible To get pregnant on Mars. Although we have little data, it appears that microgravity may impair the uterus’ ability to prepare for egg implantation. On Earth, rates can be improved with in vitro fertilization, but SpaceX has not announced plans to ship large-scale reproduction labs. Maybe we should send an astronaut with a freezer full of frozen sperm, a turkey baster, and a prayer?

If a pregnancy nevertheless occurs, the environment on Mars is unlikely to be safe for the mother’s health. It is clear that the microgravity of an orbiting space station has negative effects on the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. Astronauts orbiting Earth suffer from bone loss, muscle atrophy, and vision loss over time. An existing problem with the cardiovascular system on Earth, given that in weightlessness the heart changes shape, changing from an oval shape to a fatty sphere, and the muscles that normally compress and support blood vessels atrophy. Of particular concern is that it is much more severe for mothers who suffer from this condition. more likely to experience severe morbidity or mortality.

Prenatal care can help. UNICEF currently recommends that women see their health care provider at least four times during pregnancy. How can pregnant astronauts receive this minimal care? Presumably, they must all be board-certified maternal-fetal medicine specialists with on-site delivery experience? It won’t. Life-saving drugs are also a problem. Oxytocin, needed to stop postpartum bleeding, needs to be refrigerated at a stable temperature. In that case, you should add a refrigerator to your release list. And what happens if the refrigerator breaks down? The window for travel to Mars only opens once every two years, and it takes six months to reach Mars from here. Even in perfect condition, many medicines expire long before the supply ship arrives. It’s also true that one in eight mothers suffers from postpartum depression. Due to the great distance between Earth and Mars, calls with providers on Earth will have delays of up to 20 minutes, making real-time conversations for quick mental health support impossible. Should all astronauts be psychiatrists?

But there’s a better way. Mars can It may be the next moonshot, but the technological payoff may not be about rockets. We can use Mars as an excuse to delve into research into women’s health care on Earth while also leaning into mammalian reproductive research in space. Developing a shelf-stable drug like oxytocin could immediately benefit women here and on Earth. Although extraterrestrial environments may ultimately prove too dangerous for human pregnancies, if an artificial womb could be created, a fetus could develop successfully inside it. This technology has the potential to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality while giving women more options.

Without proper medical care, human pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery can lead to great suffering and death. Not every time, but an unforgivable amount of time. You can also choose a better method. If we don’t want to do it for women on Earth, let’s say we did it for Mars.

Kelly and Zach Weinersmith Mars city (Penguin) is the New Scientist Book Club’s latest pick. Sign up here to read with our members. Cat Bohannon is the author of Eve: How the female body drove 200 million years of human evolution.