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Baby’s microbiome changing due to caesarean birth and formula feeding

Posted in Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Biological Networks, Biomarkers & Medical Diagnostics, Biomedical Measurement Science, Cell Biology, Clinical Diagnostics, Diagnostic Immunology, Disease Biology, Epigenetics and Environmental Factors, Evolution of Biology Through Culture, Healthcare Reform, Immunodiagnostics, Immunology, Infectious Disease Immunodiagnostics, Innovation in Immunology Diagnostics, Microbiology, Population Health Management, Reproductive Biology & Bio Instrumentation, tagged baby, breastfeeding, C-section, caesarean birth, essential microbes, formula feeding, immune system, microbiome, pregnancy, vaginal microbes on February 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

During pregnancy, the baby is mostly protected from harmful microorganisms by the amniotic sac, but recent research suggests the baby could be exposed to small quantities of microbes from the placenta, amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood and fetal membranes. One theory is that any possible prenatal exposure could ‘pre-seed’ the infant microbiome. In other words, to set the right conditions for the ‘main seeding event’ for founding the infant microbiome.

When a mother gives birth vaginally and if she breastfeeds, she passes on colonies of essential microbes to her baby. This continues a chain of maternal heritage that stretches through female ancestry for thousands of generations, if all have been vaginally born and breastfed. This means a child’s microbiome, that is the trillions of microorganisms that live on and in him or her, will resemble the microbiome of his/her mother, the grandmother, the great-grandmother and so on, if all have been vaginally born and breastfed.

As soon as the mother’s waters break, suddenly the baby is exposed to a wave of the mother’s vaginal microbes that wash over the baby in the birth canal. They coat the baby’s skin, and enter the baby’s eyes, ears, nose and some are swallowed to be sent down into the gut. More microbes form of the mother’s gut microbes join the colonization through contact with the mother’s faecal matter. Many more microbes come from every breath, from every touch including skin-to-skin contact with the mother and of course, from breastfeeding.

With formula feeding, the baby won’t receive the 700 species of microbes found in breast milk. Inside breast milk, there are special sugars called human milk oligosaccharides (HMO’s) that are indigestible by the baby. These sugars are designed to feed the mother’s microbes newly arrived in the baby’s gut. By multiplying quickly, the ‘good’ bacteria crowd out any potentially harmful pathogens. These ‘good’ bacteria help train the baby’s naive immune system, teaching it to identify what is to be tolerated and what is pathogen to be attacked. This leads to the optimal training of the infant immune system resulting in a child’s best possible lifelong health.

With C-section birth and formula feeding, the baby is not likely to acquire the full complement of the mother’s vaginal, gut and breast milk microbes. Therefore, the baby’s microbiome is not likely to closely resemble the mother’s microbiome. A baby born by C-section is likely to have a different microbiome from its mother, its grandmother, its great-grandmother and so on. C-section breaks the chain of maternal heritage and this break can never be restored.

The long term effect of an altered microbiome for a child’s lifelong health is still to be proven, but many studies link C-section with a significantly increased risk for developing asthma, Type 1 diabetes, celiac disease and obesity. Scientists might not yet have all the answers, but the picture that is forming is that C-section and formula feeding could be significantly impacting the health of the next generation. Through the transgenerational aspect to birth, it could even be impacting the health of future generations.

References:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/shortchanging-a-babys-microbiome/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23926244

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26412384

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25290507

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25974306

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24637604

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22911969

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25650398

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27362264

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27306663

http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/14/11/2036