Naturally Born Babies Have More Bacterial Protection Than Those Born by Caesarean

Naturally born babies have more bacterial protection than those born by caesarean. Children born by caesarean section more likely to suffer from allergies such as asthma because they pick up less 'natural immunity' from their mother, a study suggests.

Researchers believe this is because, unlike babies born naturally, they do not acquire beneficial bacteria as they pass down the birth canal.

The findings come at a time when caesarean rates are increasing, accounting for more than one in four births in the UK.

This is mainly for medical reasons because of older mothers and obesity but also because some mothers choose to have a caesarean.

Earlier research found that babies delivered by caesarean section are at more than twice the risk of developing food allergies than children born naturally.

They are also significantly more likely to suffer diarrhoea and may be at increased danger of asthma later in life.

The latest study, led by the University of Puerto Rico and University of Colorado, showed that babies delivered naturally had bacterial communities resembling their mother's birth canal, while caesarean section newborns had common skin bacterial communities.

Researchers believe many of the different microbial communities residing on humans – each of which is personally unique – may help protect individuals from various diseases.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study included nine women from 21 to 33 years old and 10 newborns.

The babies were sampled within 24 hours of birth by swabbing their mouths and skin and by taking samples from their upper throats and intestines.

The research team then used a powerful gene sequencing technique to simultaneously analyse all of the bacteria.

The new study has allowed the researchers "to capture the first moments in time" of infant bacterial communities, said Elizabeth Costello, the co-author.

"The challenge now is to fill in the rest of the story by tracking microbial communities in infants to toddlers to children and adults over weeks, months and years to see how they evolve and change," she said. ( telegraph.co.uk)