The Importance of Infants’ Exposure to Micro-Organisms, New York Times
Many studies have strongly suggested that the trillions of microorganisms that inhabit the human body influence our current and future health and may account for the rising incidence of several serious medical conditions now plaguing Americans, young and old.
Dr. Suchitra Hourigan, a pediatric gastroenterologist and director of the Inova Translational Medicine Institute in Falls Church, Va., is planning a three-year study of 800 babies delivered by a scheduled cesarean, half of whom will get vaginal seeding, to help determine if the technique is safe and beneficial.
Dr. Hourigan said in an interview, “Women shouldn’t do vaginal seeding until trials show it’s safe and offers health benefits to infants. I’m worried about mothers doing this without screening and sometimes without supervision by a physician who says it’s O.K.”
She added that at the moment, breast-feeding is the best and safest way to expose babies born by cesarean to their mother’s bacteria. Breast milk contains many of the same beneficial bacteria found in a woman’s vagina, and breast-feeding infants are less likely than those consuming formula to develop respiratory and gastrointestinal infections and allergies as well as chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity and inflammatory bowel disease.