Caesarean birth and the microbiome

Your body, inside and out, is covered with a community of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which sounds pretty gross, but they are absolutely vital for your health, especially the ones living in your gut. These are known collectively as your microbiome.

When a baby is born vaginally, it is coming from an almost sterile environment and it will ingest and be exposed to the ‘friendly’ bacteria in your vagina and faecal matter. This is called seeding their microbiome.

During the last few weeks of your pregnancy your vagina is creating a particularly important bacteria that, that when ingested helps to populate your baby’s gut making it easier for them to digest milk.

Babies born via C-section birth are not exposed to as many microbes during birth which may contribute to the following:

C-sec birthed babies may have a higher instance of digestive impairment, eczema, food allergies (1) reduced immunity (2), asthma (3), childhood obesity and coeliac disease (4) so it’s worth investing time in the other seeding protocols such as skin-to-skin and breastfeeding (5).

Or you can request that your care team help you to do ‘vaginal seeding’ which is when a gauze is placed in your vagina before the birth to absorb your microbes. This is then placed in a sterile bag. After baby is born, their bodies and their mouths are wiped with the gauze. Although if you have been diagnosed with Group-B Strep then do not do this! Some obstetricians do not agree with vaginal seeding as they think it can increase the chances of infection for the baby. Some women choose to do this themselves, but do weigh up the risks and benefits yourself.

As you will have had antibiotics during the birth of your baby, your gut microbiome will have been damaged so it’s a good idea to take a high quality probiotic such as Better Vits. You can also give your baby a probiotic from birth such as Optibac.

You can also support your gut health by eating prebiotics (which the friendly bacteria feed from). These can be found in fermented foods (such as cheese, kefir and sauerkraut). Also found in oats, cashews, almonds and milled flaxseeds amongst other sources. If you have Irritable Bowl Syndrome then do seek medical advice before introducing fermented foods.