Experts are warning expectant mothers about the potential dangers involved with vaginal seeding.
Vaginal seeding is a practice involving a mother, who has given birth via C-section, taking swabs of her vaginal fluid and applying it to her new baby’s nose, mouth and skin after the birth in order to boost their immune system.
A recent study suggested that babies who were born through vaginal births performed better later in life than those born through C-section. This is thought to be linked to the bacteria passed from the mother to the child during birth.
Neurophysiologist, Professor Joel Bornstein, who co-authored the research explained that babies born vaginally are exposed to, and ingest, bacteria from their mother’s vagina and faecal matter, while babies born by C-section are exposed to bacteria from their mother’s skin and hospital surfaces within the delivery room.
So, new mothers, who have delivered their baby by C-section, use vaginal seeding to try and replicate the benefits of a vaginal birth.
However, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), are warning women to be careful about the potential risks associated with this.
According to Live Science, Dr. Christopher Zahn, from ACOG, released a statement saying:
“By swabbing an infant’s mouth, nose, or skin with vaginal fluid after birth, the mother could potentially, and unknowingly, pass on disease-causing bacteria or viruses.”
He added that mothers can give their baby the bacteria they need through breastfeeding:
“Breastfeeding for the first six months is the best way to overcome the lack of exposure to maternal vaginal flora at birth. The bacteria present in breast milk and on the nipple is sufficient for natural colonisation or seeding of the gut.
There may be some initial difference in the gut [microbes] of infants based on mode of delivery, but research has shown that difference disappears after about six months.”
