The only place matrotropy shows up online is in her article.  I think she
meant matrotrophy... which doesn't mean "eating the mother" at all.  It
means "grown/nourished by the mother" and is, indeed, a term used by
biologists.  However, it is used to describe embryos that receive
nourishment from the mother throughout gestation... as contrasted to, say,
embryos that develop fully from the yolk inside an egg (called
"lecithotrophy").

Cee

 On Thu, 7 Apr 2005, Valerie W. McClain wrote:

> You know I can't find that word, matrotropy (used in the NY Times mag
> article) in my dictionary nor on the web dictionaries.
> New word?  Coined by an evolutionary biologist?  Bet it was a male who coined
> the term.  In evolutionary terms, if mammal babies ate their mothers then I
> would think evolution would be over?   It might make a good thriller book or
> movie, "The Silence of the Mothers." (a misogynist's dream come true)
> Valerie W. McClain
>
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