Baby Biome has been researched by research teams at several UK universities and published in the journal Nature, read by Sky News.
It has been explained that the exact role of intestinal bacteria in newborns has not yet been elucidated. It is also questionable whether these differences will have a lasting effect on the health of children at birth. The results, however, are of great help in the development of various therapies. The research found that the amount of gut bacteria in babies born naturally and by caesarean section
one year after birth, it only leveled out.
A sample of 1,679 newborns and mothers were analyzed, the infants were 4, 7, and 21 days old, and the analysis showed a surprisingly large difference in the number of gut bacteria between the two births. Newborn babies are completely sterile in the womb, according to Nigel Field, a professor at University College London (UCL). However, at the moment of birth, the immune system has to rely on huge amounts of bacteria. The theory is that the moment of birth is like a kind of thermostat that sets the immune system to function for the rest of its life.
Research has also shown that children born with cesarean section are more likely to develop immune-related illnesses, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and an allergy predisposition.
Trevor Lawley, author of the study, reported that the transfer of bacteria from mother to child occurs naturally during childbirth. Finding out exactly what these bacteria are and how they contribute to a baby's health can be a great help in developing therapies later on.
(Source: marmalade.co.uk/hirado.com, image: pixabay.com)