Thursday, March 9, 2017

C-Section babies at risk



I was under the impression that this guy's wife - name not mentioned here - was the lead on this information. I learned about her, Martin Blaser and Rob Knight when I took a course on the Human Microbiome through Coursera.

Seems we also discussed how the microbiome can effect your mood here.

Though births by caesarean section are often medically necessary, they can be harmful to a child’s long-term health, the Los Angeles Times reports. Babies who do not pass through the birth canal miss out on beneficial bacteria that help their immune systems develop and shape their microbiomes—the collection of microorganisms dwelling in and on the body. Consequently, those children are more vulnerable to metabolic and immune disorders, such as asthma, type 1 diabetes, and celiac disease. A research team at New York University may have found a remedy, however. Swabbing C-section newborns with vaginal fluids from their mothers immediately after birth provided them with some of those key missing microbes, including Lactobacillus and Bacteroides, which train the immune system to recognize and preserve other helpful bacteria. As a result, the infants’ overall microbiomes more closely resembled those of babies born vaginally. “This study shows we can restore, at least partially, the microbiome of the mother to the baby,” says researcher Rob Knight. “What we don’t know yet is how it reflects long-term health.”

Taken from the February 19, 2016 edition of The Week Magazine.

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