2023-06-16 01:24:46
If mother’s secretions are applied to a newborn baby through cesarean section, will it help the child’s health?
Babies receive beneficial gut microbes from their mothers through the birth process and subsequent breastfeeding. The microbiome formed in this way has a great influence on the development of the baby’s immune system in the early stages of birth.
Unlike babies born by natural delivery, babies born by caesarean section do not go through the process of receiving intestinal microbes from their mothers following coming out of the birth canal, so the composition of their microbiome is different in the early stages of birth. Microorganisms contained in the mother’s skin and breast milk and those found in the surrounding environment, such as hospitals, are the main ones.
Although these differences naturally disappear as the child grows up, some argue that the microbiome is involved in the formation of the immune system early in life, which will affect health later in life.
Accordingly, ‘vaginal seeding’, which applies secretions from the mother’s vagina following childbirth to a child born by caesarean section, is sometimes performed. However, opinions are divided, such as concerns that it is harmful to babies due to the risk of infection.
In the midst of this, a joint research team in the United States and China has published a study that the application of secretions has a positive effect on the early neural development of babies.
This study was published in an academic journal ‘Cell Host & Microbe’was published on the 15th (local time).
The research team rubbed gauze soaked in mother’s secretions on 32 babies born by cesarean section at China Southern Medical University following giving birth. Another 36 babies were rubbed with saline-soaked gauze. Safety was confirmed by carrying out infectious disease tests for the mothers in advance.
Babies who received their mother’s secretions had more microbes from their mothers in their bodies at 6 weeks of age. It is said that by applying the secretion, it can help the formation of the baby’s intestinal microflora. These babies had more mature intestinal microflora than babies who were rubbed with saline, and were almost at the level of babies born naturally.
The researchers also asked the mothers regarding their baby’s neurodevelopment at 3 and 6 months of age. She asked if the baby was making simple sounds and if he was groaning on her hands and knees. As a result, the neurodevelopmental score of the children who received the secretion patch was higher than that of the children who did not, and was almost at the same level as that of babies born naturally.
Corresponding author Yan Hee, professor at Southern Medical University, said, “I hope this study will serve as an opportunity for further research to improve neurological disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and intellectual disability in children.” “Understanding scabies might lead to the creation of treatments for babies born by caesarean section.”
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However, there is also an opinion that caution should be exercised as to whether such differences in early neurodevelopment will lead to meaningful results in the future. This is because a baby’s brain development is large and rapid. “A delay of a few months in the early years of life may not mean much when you turn 18,” University of Minnesota professor Alexander Korutz told Nature.
Professor Jose Clements of Mount Sinai Medical School in the United States, who participated in the study, said, “The difference in the microbiome following birth will not determine whether or not you go to Harvard University, but follow-up research is needed to understand the related mechanism and make useful use of it.”
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