September 18, 2019

caesareans and the baby microbiome

New research to be published in Nature will show that babies born vaginally have different gut bacteria – their microbiome – than those delivered by caesarean. Scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, UCL, the University of Birmingham and their collaborators discovered that whereas vaginally-born babies got most of their gut bacteria from their mother, babies born via caesarean did not, and instead had more bacteria associated with hospitals in their guts.  The research also finds that the microbiome of vaginally-delivered newborns did not come from the mother’s vaginal bacteria, but from the mother’s gut. 

Journalists came to the SMC to hear from the authors of the Baby Biome Study, the largest ever study of neonatal microbiomes.

Speakers  included:

Dr Trevor Lawley, Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute

Dr Nigel Field, Clinical Associate Professor at UCL

Prof Peter Brocklehurst, Professor of Women’s Health and Director of Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham and Principal Investigator of the Baby Biome Study

The were joined for the Q&A by Dr Alison Wright, Consultant Obstetrician and Vice President of The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

This Briefign was accompanied by a Roundup of comments