There is a general perception that children born by caesarean section have weaker immunity than those born naturally. A child born through natural childbirth gets a ‘microbiome’ from the mother when it comes out of the world, but it is difficult for a child born through caesarean section to go through this process.
During childbirth, the fetus inherits the microbiome that helps build immunity from the mother.ㅣSource: Getty Image Bank
‘Beneficial bacteria shower’ that determines the immunity of newborns
The microbiome is a community of microorganisms that coexist with humans and is closely related to health and disease. Because the fetus grows in the mother’s womb, which is sterile, it is initially not exposed to any microbiome. However, during childbirth, a significant amount of the microbiome is inherited from the mother as it passes through the birth canal. This process is called a ‘beneficial shower’. It is known that the shower of beneficial bacteria plays an important role in the formation of a baby’s early immunity.
Babies born by caesarean section do not have a shower of beneficial bacteria, so they relatively lack the diversity and number of microbiome in their bodies. In fact, in 2021, researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reported in the international journal ‘Cell Host & Microbe’ that children born by caesarean section lack the diversity of intestinal microbes and do not recover to a level similar to that of children born naturally. Research has shown that it takes 3 to 5 years to complete. For this reason, efforts to form the microbiome of a child born by caesarean section, such as artificially transplanting the mother’s intestinal microbes to the child, are being attempted worldwide.
Breastfeeding can also pass on the microbiome
Recently, researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands announced the results of a study that found that children born by caesarean section can form a microbiome similar to that of a child born naturally if they consume breast milk for a certain period following birth. The study was conducted with 120 Dutch mothers regarding to give birth.
The research team collected microbial samples from the newborn’s skin, nasal mucus, saliva, and mucous membranes every 2 hours, 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 month following childbirth, and collected them from six places, including the mother’s skin, breast milk, and feces. It was compared and analyzed with the microbial samples found. As a result, more than half of the newborn’s microbiome, or 58.5%, was found to match the composition of the mother’s microbiome. Of course, the composition of the microbiome found in newborns differs depending on the method of birth.
In the case of children born by natural delivery, the composition of the microbiome matched the composition of the microbiome found in the mother’s feces because they showered with beneficial bacteria during the process of passing through the birth canal. It was similar to the composition of the microbiome in skin, breast milk, nose and throat. In particular, it was shown that microbiome constituent microorganisms found in mother’s breast milk accounted for most of the microbiome constituent microorganisms of newborns born by caesarean section.
The research team said, “This study revealed that newborn babies can fully form the necessary microbiome through breastfeeding, etc., even without receiving a shower of beneficial bacteria.” We were also able to confirm that it is more important for newborns.” Professor Wouter Piters, who led the study, emphasized, “Follow-up studies should confirm how the composition of the microbiome affects the long-term growth and health of the child.” It is also very important to reveal what characteristics microbes have.”
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