Newborn cesarean babies are more likely to developed asthma and allergies as a toddler perhaps because they were not exposed to the microbiota in their mother's vagina and perineum during birth which significantly affects the development of their immune system.
A few studies suggest that to address the lack of microbiota, newborn c-section babies should be swabbed with the vaginal fluid from their mother immediately after birth to reduce that risk.
But a paper from Cell, published on October 1, suggests a more drastic way. According to the study, diluting the mother's poop into the breast milk and feeding it to the baby after birth will do the trick. The researchers reported a proof that this procedure is safe, and at three months, the baby will have microbial makeup similar to babies born vaginally than those C-section babies.
Feeding C-Section Babies With Mother's Poop
Co-senior author Sture Andersson said that from a clinical point of view, microbiota transfer happens during a vaginal delivery, it is like a gift the mother gives to her baby.
The baby's immune system is underdeveloped at birth, and microbiota exposure from the mother helps it mature. However, the overall patterns of microbiota in the gut are different in babies born vaginally and through the cesarean section-these variations impacts how their immune system responds to outside stimuli, such as potential allergies.
The researchers posted leaflets in the doctor's office for possible participants in which 30 have contacted them, but only 17 mothers agreed to participate. However, 10 of these mothers have contraindications like a recent course of antibiotics or a potential dangerous microbe, which left the study with seven mothers scheduled for a cesarean birth.
The newborn babies were fed with fecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) after they were born. Fecal samples from the mother were collected three weeks beforehand. To make sure there were no complications, the babies stayed for two days in the hospital.
The researchers tested the microbiota in newborns at birth and again after two days, two weeks, three weeks, and three months. Blood was also taken from them immediately after birth for analysis.
Microbiota Similar to Babies Born Vaginally
They found that the c-section babies at three months age who received the FMTs have microbiota similar to those babies born vaginally, but different from other c-section babies who did not receive FMTs as well as from their mother's microbiota.
Co-senior author Willem de Vos said that although their study was not designed as a safety study, they were able to find it to be effective and supportive of the concept of vertical transfer from the mother to her child. The authors do not recommend people to try the procedure on their own because samples must be tested first for safety and sustainability.
Andersson said that the participants were very motivated in joining in the study despite how unpalatable this research is to other people.
The researchers plan to study further the development of the immune system of C-section babies who receive the FMTs and compare it to those who did not receive. But this time, the study will have a control group and will be blinded to the mothers.
Read More: Sleeping Problems Among Babies Linked to Mental Disorders As Adolescents: Study
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