VAGINAL MICROBIOTA AS A PROTECTIVE MECHANISM IN NEWBORNS

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Cover image by @sidalim88, using public domain image. Source:

Hello dear community on this occasion I want to share with you a topic of great interest that is related to the microbiota of babies at birth. Which can be affected by several factors that will be described little by little in the development of this post.

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You know that children born by normal (vaginal) delivery are exposed to microorganisms that are totally different from those born by cesarean section. However, recent studies have shown that this microbiota that is of great benefit to babies can be recovered by the maternal microbiota seconds after delivery.

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The vaginal microbiota consists of the colonization of a set of viruses, bacteria, fungi and many other organisms that are inside the body of every human being. This microbiota can be affected by the prolonged use of antibiotics by the breast during the gestation period, the type of diet, the consumption of tobacco or if the delivery is by cesarean section, which results in children developing a series of metabolic, allergic and immunological diseases, such as (diabetes, asthma, allergies, Crohn's disease) and there is also a greater chance that the children will be obese in the future.

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On the contrary, if the birth process is carried out in a normal way, mothers transfer to their babies these microorganisms that will settle in the intestine and strengthen the immune system of the infant..

This corresponds to research carried out in Spain, where they conducted an investigation, in which they analyzed the birth of 177 babies, who were placed under medical surveillance during their first year of life. In this research, 98 children were born by natural childbirth, while 79 were born by cesarean section. From the latter group, a sample of 30 infants was taken, who were exposed to the mother's vaginal microbiota by means of a gauze.

The results obtained in this research confirm that the microbiota of infants born by cesarean section can be recovered by means of the technique they implemented. Likewise, it could be evidenced that the vaginal microbiota of the mothers was totally equal to that of the intestine, skin and mouth.

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The discovery generated by this research is important because, as mentioned above, it is possible to restore the microorganisms coming from the vaginal microbiota of the breast to the babies, even if they were born by cesarean section. So far there is only evidence that such restitution is normal during the first year of life, but it is estimated that in future research will be studied if this protection to the diseases mentioned above will be given for a certain time.
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In the next investigations that are expected to be developed, the search for specific bacteria that can prevent metabolic, allergic and immunological diseases and the possible obesity of infants will be pursued. In this way, new strategies can be implemented to allow babies born by cesarean section to preserve their microbiota as if they had been born by normal delivery. Since low breastfeeding, the use of antibiotics and birth by cesarean section bring side effects in the vaginal microbiota of children and thus end up destroying the protective shield against certain diseases..

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Álvarez Calatayud, Guillermo. (2015). The microbiota in women; clinical applications of probiotics. Source:

Mora Agüero, Sofía de los Ángeles. (2019). Microbiota and vaginal dysbiosis. Source:

Pinto Coelho, Gabriela Diniz. (2021). The acquired microbiota according to birth pathway: an integrative review. Source:








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Interesting research anf findings. I will have to read more about the research, perhaps read the original paper. Does it means that babies given birth to CS lacks vital symbiotic microflora or they just don't have enough of it as compared by those vagina birthed?

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Hi @gentleshaid, there are actually many other aspects to explore on this topic of the importance of how babies are born, i.e. how it affects how they are born. Research in the UK shows that children born by caesarean section have certain health complications (allergies, asthma and obesity) in the first year of life that children born naturally do not usually have, and this is attributed to the microbiota.
New research is also being conducted on this topic to look into it further. Greetings and thanks for reading my post

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This is interesting news to me. Never thought a vaginally birth is of so much benefit to the newborn.

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Hello @wolfofnostreet, on many occasions due to ignorance and fear of the natural childbirth process we ignore this option, without taking into account the negative effects it can have on the baby. Greetings

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