People will do just about anything for their kids . And for some parents of babies bear by caesarian section , that includes swab a baby with bacterium from their mother ’s vagina . It ’s a Modern estimate , but it ’s catching on — despite the fact that there ’s no grounds that it helps , as several doctors observe in theBritish Medical Journal(BMJ ) .
The practice is call “ vaginal seeding , ” and aims to bolster a newborn baby ’s health with the helpful starter bacterium he or she might have missed by skipping the giving birth canal . Microbiomeis the collective term for the ecosystems of bacteria , fungi , and viruses survive on and in your soundbox . As you ’ve probably pick up by now , not all germ are bad . In fact , you need a certain variety and balance of germ to keep your body functioning . You pick up these microbe everywhere you go , from the doorhandle of a hotel room to kissing a booster on the impertinence . Most multitude get theirfirst microbic downloadas they enrol the world . But C - segment babies do n’t .
The concept seems well-grounded enough . But , as the author of theBMJeditorial explicate , there ’s just no grounds that vaginal seeding is actually in force or dependable .
" Demand for this outgrowth has increase among cleaning lady attending hospital in the UK — but this has outstripped professional consciousness and counseling , ” co - author Aubrey Cunningtonsaidin a press statement . “ At the moment we ’re a long way from having the evidence base to recommend this drill . There is simply no grounds to suggest it has benefits — and it may deport potential endangerment . "
swob a babe transfers all variety of bug , both harmful and helpful . And since there ’s no catalog of which bacterium are being shared , there ’s no elbow room of knowing which pathogen might be causing a infant ’s sickness down the cable .
" In some countries , include the UK , we do n’t prove pregnant woman for the bacteria group B strep , ” Cunnington continued . “ This is carry by around one in four significant women , and although it poses no peril to the mother , it can get fateful infections in baby . There are also other conditions that have no symptoms in the mother , such as chlamydia , clap , and herpes simplex virus that could be transferred on the swab . One colleague had to intervene when a female parent with genital herpes , who had undergo a cesarean plane section , was about to undertake this process . Swabbing would have potentially transferred the herpes virus to the baby . "
Hospital staff will also not expect a vitamin C - section baby to be vulnerable to the kinds of contagion as a sister bear of vaginal delivery . “ It ’s important [ that ] parents tell stave they have perform the process , so the healthcare team are aware the infant is at risk of the same infections as a baby suffer by vaginal obstetrical delivery , " Cunnington added .
The bottom line is that parent and physicians should look for more data point before welt out the swob . In the lag , Cunnington enounce , they can concentrate on evidence - based methods of boosting a baby ’s microbiome : " boost breast feeding and avoiding unnecessary antibiotics may be more important to a baby ’s gut bacterium than worrying about transferring vaginal fluid on a mop . "
