I came across an article, which I find interesting and upon further searches on Google, decided to share it with you guys as I'm very interested to know your thoughts on this. For your convenience, I have copied the excerpts from the article here:
"Babies born via C-section may be more prone to allergies and other issues because they miss out on vital microbes in mom’s birth canal — but a practice called “seeding” aims to make up for that.
Seems like there’s a new hip, must-try birth practice unveiled with regularity these days — hypnobirthing, placenta eating, delayed umbilical-cord clamping — and now, for women having C-sections, “seeding,” or the practice of swabbing a newborn with healthy bacteria collected from mom’s vagina to reap a host of health benefits.
So what’s it all about? Preliminary scientific research has shown health differences between babies born vaginally and by C-section — with those removed surgically being more prone to allergies, diabetes, asthma, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and other conditions, possibly because they don’t get coated in mom’s birth-canal fluids, which include a healthy dose of bacteria.
Trillions of microbes, collectively called microbiome by scientists, reside in our bodies — on the skin or in the gut, mouth, or vagina, where their presence plays a vital role in human health but can lead to health problems when they are out of balance or deficient. It’s why newborns who don’t get to pass through the estimated 300 to 400 species of microbes in mom’s vagina may be at a health disadvantage, according to Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, a microbiologist at New York University School of Medicine who is at the forefront of research about seeding. She recently studied 21 babies in Puerto Rico and found that swab seeding positively affected the microbiome in newborns."
I personally feel this is great news! Okay, granted, some may think I have no rights to comment this since I have no experience in C-sections but having read articles about babies are baptized to the world of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens as they pass through the birth canal, how C-section infants don’t get enough good microbes and more, I think this 'seeding' method sounds awesome!
How does it work you wonder?
"requests for “seeding” – in which a swab soaked in vaginal fluid is put in the newborn’s mouth and wiped across their body immediately after birth – are on the rise."
I read in some articles that the thought of how this was done was quite gross but I personally feel it is no difference from how a baby was born vaginally. Babies inhale and swallowed whatever liquid, discharge, bacterias etc while in womb and while being birthed so what's the gross thing about this seeding method? I would think it this method helps to transfer some good bacterias from mums to babies, why not?
How about you? What do you think?
Sources:
* Inside the Growing Practice of 'Seeding' Babies Born Via C-Section
* Would you ‘seed’ your baby? The surprising post-birth trend on the rise that sees mothers who have C-sections bathe newborns in vaginal fluid
* Seeding: The new birth trend that's all about bacteria
* The Way You’re Born Can Mess With the Microbes You Need to Survive
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