Beneficial bacteria can be restored to C-section babies at birth

Date:
June 17, 2021
Source:
Rutgers University
Summary:
Babies born by Cesarean section don't have the same healthy bacteria
as those born vaginally, but a new study finds that these natural
bacteria can be restored.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Babies born by cesarean section don't have the same healthy bacteria as
those born vaginally, but a Rutgers-led study for the first time finds
that these natural bacteria can be restored.


==========================================================================
The study appears in the journal Med.

The human microbiota consists of trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi
and other microorganisms -- some beneficial, some harmful -- that live
in and on our bodies. Women naturally provide these pioneer colonizers
to their babies' sterile bodies during labor and birth, helping their
immune system to develop.

But antibiotics and C-sections disturb this passing of microbes and are
related to increased risks of obesity, asthma and metabolic diseases.

The researchers followed 177 babies from four countries over the first
year of their lives -- 98 were born vaginally and 79 were born by
C-section, 30 of which were swabbed with a maternal vaginal gauze right
after birth.

Lab analysis showed that the microbiota of the C-section babies swabbed
with their mother's vaginal fluids was close to that of vaginally born
babies. Also, the mother's vaginal microbiomes on the day of birth were
similar to other areas of their bodies (gut, mouth and skin), showing
that maternal vaginal fluids help to colonize bacteria across their
babies' bodies.

This was the first large observational study to show that restoring
a C-section baby's natural exposure to maternal vaginal microbes at
birth normalizes the microbiome development during their first year
of life. The researchers said the next step is conducting randomized
clinical trials to determine if the microbiota normalization translates
into disease protection.

"Further research is needed to determine which bacteria protect against obesity, asthma and allergies, diseases with underlying inflammation,"
said senior author Maria Gloria Dominguez Bello, a professor in the
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology in the School of Environmental
and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. "Our
results support the hypothesis that acquiring maternal vaginal microbes normalizes microbiome development in the babies." According to the
World Health Organization, C-section is needed in about 15 percent of
births to avoid risking the life of the mother or child, but in many
countries such as in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Iran and China,
C-section is performed in more than 70% of urban births.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Rutgers_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Se Jin Song, Jincheng Wang, Cameron Martino, Lingjing Jiang,
Wesley K.

Thompson, Liat Shenhav, Daniel McDonald, Clarisse Marotz, Paul
R. Harris, Caroll D. Hernandez, Nora Henderson, Elizabeth Ackley,
Deanna Nardella, Charles Gillihan, Valentina Montacuti, William
Schweizer, Melanie Jay, Joan Combellick, Haipeng Sun, Izaskun
Garcia-Mantrana, Fernando Gil Raga, Maria Carmen Collado, Juana
I. Rivera-Vin~as, Maribel Campos-Rivera, Jean F. Ruiz-Calderon,
Rob Knight, Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello.

Naturalization of the microbiota developmental trajectory of
Cesarean- born neonates after vaginal seeding. Med, 2021; DOI:
10.1016/ j.medj.2021.05.003 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210617163655.htm

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