2023-07-07 12:59:42
July 07, 2023
Vaginal deliveries allow newborns to benefit from special immune protection. This reinforcement comes from the contact of the skin of the toddler with the maternal microbes, when it passes through the vagina. Deprived of this exposure, infants born by caesarean section are at increased risk of microbiota imbalance and gut inflammation. Details.
Scheduled or performed in an emergency, caesareans are indicated in 20.4% of births in France. As necessary as it is to give birth, this delivery can impact the development of toddlers who are then deprived of the immune protection allowed by exposure to the vaginal microbiota. Concretely, cesarean section disrupts the transfer of microbiota from mother to child, which leads to an alteration of the immune system and a predisposition to allergies, obesity and intestinal inflammation.
In adulthood, the imbalance of the intestinal microbiota, otherwise known as dysbiosis, increases the risk of asthma, allergy, type 1 diabetes and obesity.
To better understand this mechanism, specialists from the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRAE) conducted a study on this subject, in collaboration with the University of Paris-Saclay. This team observed this phenomenon with young mice born by caesarean section. In rodent toddlers was spotted, in adulthood, ” excessive stimulation of the intestine, which induces a change in the structure of the mucous membrane and an inflammatory reaction ».
Possible treatments?
In the same study, scientists were able to confirm the effectiveness of lactobacilli supplements. These bacteria present naturally in the intestine contribute to the balance of the intestinal flora. Within the study, they came to reinforce the effectiveness of the immune system of the young mice.
In humans, the so-called vaginal seeding technique consists of dabbing the newborn’s body with a gauze pad soaked in the mother’s vaginal secretions. Performed just after birth, this method accelerates the maturation process of intestinal bacteria in newborns, increases the concentration of bacteria Lactobacillus and increase bacterial diversity.
Lactobacillus are also found in breast milk: breastfeeding, if possible, can therefore strengthen the immune system of babies born by caesarean section. Industrial milks enriched with human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are also beneficial.
Source: National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRAE), Microbiome, July 3, 2023 – Ministry of Solidarity and Health, site consulted on July 6, 2023
Written by: Laura Bourgault – Edited by: Emmanuel Ducreuzet
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