September 18, 2019

expert reaction to newborn microbiomes in vaginal vs caesarean delivery

Research, published in Nature, reports that Babies born vaginally have different gut bacteria – their microbiome – than those delivered by Caesarean.

This Roundup also accompanies an SMC Briefing.

Prof Andrew Shennan, Professor of Obstetrics at King’s College London (KCL), said:

“Our microbiome, the bacteria that live on our skin and in our gut, is important to us to ensure optimal health. We obtain a lot of this around the time of birth. This important study confirms that the way we give birth will alter our microbiome in the first year of life. Caesarean delivery results in fewer bacteria in the baby’s gut being like its mother’s. This is not known to be harmful and mothers who need a caesarean should not be alarmed. The further effects of this in long term health need to be evaluated.”

‘Stunted microbiota and opportunistic pathogen colonization in caesarean-section birth by Yan Shao et al. was published in Nature at 6pm UK TIME on Wednesday 18 September 2019. 

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1560-1

Declared interests

None to declare