When you choose to birth your child naturally, the number ONE thing that is going to happen as a result is that your baby will receive ALL of their necessary microbiota from you. In other words, you are giving your baby all of the natural, healthy bacteria that they need to flourish in life-you’re seeding baby’s microbiome.
We all have a genome, which is the complete set of genetic material that comes from mom and dad. But we also have a microbiome, which is all of the bacteria, yeast and microorganisms present in and on our bodies too.
How To Go About Seeding Baby’s Microbiome
Because your baby is in a nearly sterile environment while in your uterus, they don’t come in contact with outside microbes until they are born or shortly afterwards. Your body keeps their environment sterile throughout their growth because they are much more vulnerable to harmful things you could easily fight, off but they can’t. This is why you don’t want to eat anything harmful that could cause detrimental effects.
There are three key ways your baby receives their microbiome:
- From your vagina
- From your skin
- From your breastmilk
When you’re baby is born vaginally, there is a host of millions of microorganisms that naturally reside in your vagina that your baby gets first hand contact with. Your baby is essentially ‘bathed’ in the bacteria and flora as they come down your birth canal.
As you put them on your chest for skin to skin contact immediately after birth (which I hope you have in your birth plan), they also receive additional bacteria directly from your skin.
Another superb way is when you’re breastfeeding, your body has kept natural bacteria in your breastmilk that you baby can ingest and start to populate their intestinal track-SUPER important for their developing immune system.
Why My Baby’s Microbiome Is Important
There are MORE bacterial cells residing with our body than we have of our OWN cells.
These bacteria aren’t harmful in any way. (With one exception you’ll want to know about.) They work WITH our immune system and all of the other molecules and cells in our body in order to keep the machine of our body functioning properly.
- The bacteria in our gut create and excrete chemicals that help us with the digestion of our food.
- Microbes help regulate and control the growth and fluctuation of our immune system. Without the proper bacteria, our own immune system can’t operate well.
- Some of the DNA in our genes have been found to come from bacteria, further enhancing our development and prosperity.
The most important thing here is the benefit to our immune system. Without it, we cannot combat all of the harmful substances that also naturally exist, such as viral infections and harmful microbes that are detrimental to our health.
Many studies have shown that without a healthy microbiome gained at birth, our chances of many conditions and diseases later in life rises dramatically.
Here are just a few studies you can reference about particular conditions people face today, and how they tie from their micro biome:
| Health Effect | Study Source |
| Negative impact on infant stem cell growth | American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Center for Molecular Medicine, Sweden 2014 |
| Development of asthma | Journal of Clinical Development Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 2012 |
| Greater ability for infants to stay healthy | Canadian Medical Association Journal, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alberta, 2013 |
| Reaction to increase and changes in diseases | European Molecular Biology Organization, New York University School of Medicine, 2006 |
| The impact upon brain and behavioral disorders | Advanced Expertise Medical Biology, Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Ireland, 2014 |
| Association with Celiac disease | Gut Microbes, Volume II, Issue II, Landes Bioscience, 2011 |
| Risk of chronic diseases | Entropy, Volume 14, Issue 11, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, 2011 |
| Role in gastrointestinal diseases | Journal of Advanced Gastroenterology, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co., Ireland, 2013 |
| Relationship with Type 1 Diabetes | Scientific Reports, Department of Nutrition and Metabolism, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, 2014 |
| Programming the immune system | Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, 2013 |
Actions That Harm The MicroBiome At Birth
When a mother electively chooses to have a cesarean delivery, she is also choosing to rob her child of ALL the positive benefits gained from having a vaginal birth.
When a mother chooses to not breast feed her baby, she is choosing to exclude all the MARVELOUS substances and nutrients (including bacteria) that her baby needs best.
What happens when those two choices are made is a lifetime of difference for the health and future outcome of that child.
Here is a video about a documentary done by MicroBirth that clearly describes what can happen to future generations if we continue to have such high rates of unnatural birth for our children. I HIGHLY suggest that you watch it because it may change your view completely about how important natural vaginal birth is.
What Else Can I Do?
I understand that some of you will require to have your baby born via c-section. Everyone has their own circumstances and health challenges. PLEASE know that still being able to have your child in your arms, even if they’re birthed this way, is FAR better than not having that baby at all. I will never refuse a c-section if it means the life of my child and if there is no other possible way.
- You can STILL breastfeed and gain the marvelous seeding and assistance that way. Do everything you can to make this happen as long as possible. You can find help through your hospital, midwife or local health department. Such help is often free of charge.
- You can have your baby skin to skin with you as much as possible, especially right after birth. There are many more benefits from skin to skin than just adding to your baby’s mirobiome.
- Take probiotics yourself and incorporate them into your child’s diet too, once they get old enough to have foods such as yogurt that will assist in that. Also have a healthy diet that includes fungi, like mushrooms and yeast breads.
- Avoid antibiotics at all costs. Almost all antibiotic medications will kill the GOOD bacteria as well as the harmful, making it very difficult to keep a healthy level of the good bacteria around.
You can also learn about keeping harmful things away from your baby and growing children that are also detrimental to their immune system as they grow. Here is a great book you can read that covers much more than I can keep contained here. It’s recommended by the makers of the film you watched above and comes with my stamp of approval too.
Strategies for Protecting Your Child’s Immune System: Tools for Parents and Parents-To-Be
One thing you NEED to understand though…
Even if you have your baby naturally…and you breastfeed…and you have skin to skin contact often…and you take probiotics with a healthy diet…and you avoid antibacterial medications and substances…and you exercise-you can STILL have a child that grows up with a disease or lifelong illness. You may STILL have a baby that is often sick.
There are SO many other things that contribute to the health and well being of your children and ourselves. Such as:
- the types of food eaten, whether they’re organic or not
- the environment surrounding, air quality, chemicals and toxins in the everyday objects we use and wear
- the thousands of genes and epigenetic variations of them that lead to infinite possibilities of the design and function of one’s body
- the everyday experiences that form character and personality, mental and social health, leading to emotional decisions that having controlling effects on our bodies
But your chances are BEST when you DO those things that keep the odds in your favor. We cannot control everything, but we can control a lot of things that may make the difference between a sad and painful life, versus one full of vitality and prosperity.
I hope this has helped you add to your decision to have a natural baby birth. Many people don’t understand the science and microbiology behind how our bodies function and what REALLY is happening beyond what we can see with our naked eye.
I come from a scientific background and this comes second nature to me quite easily. I can formulate how things fit together from start to finish, from the microscopic molecules building our DNA to choosing what foods we eat and the actions we take with our bodies on a full scale level.
If any of this is still confusing to you and something doesn’t make sense, please ask me in the comments or send me a message. I would love to help you understand the fundamentals and why they play such a HUGE role in our health and well being.
Ensure Your Vaginal Birth With This Relaxation Kit
I try to keep things simple, but educated enough so that you are confident in why you are choosing to make the decisions with your birth that you are. So that you can back up your point of view when some relative scoffs at your desire to achieve the ‘unattainable.’ So that you can impress your doctor, which will make them much more likely to trust in your own decisions and abilities.
What are your thoughts? Life is amazing.
Jaime says
With the singular exception of Jolie- her comment sounded like a real person who read he article and had with an actual, relevant question.
Jaime says
Hate to say this but every single comment on here sounds exactlylike an automated, generic reply that “congratulates” your post but is not a real person interested in the topic. They sound very formal, I genuine and fake. I just wanna give you a heads up that a lot of comments like that are auto generated from people paid to comment on posts and try to drive traffic back to their own pages. Sorry.
Sometimes it’s the way the online content marketing mill runs. But I’m not going to deny genuine comments, especially when mothers have questions. Thanks for your thoughts Jaime.
Michael N says
Its personal like you examine my mind! You appear to acknowledge a big quantity concerning this, like you made summary in that or maybe something. I think that you want a variety of images to have the message home a little bit of, nonetheless besides that, this is really amazing blog site website. A superb read. I’ll definitely be back..
Thanks Michael! I’m happy to help. 🙂
AntioneLDebenedictis says
This site was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something that helped me.
Cheers!
Great, thanks for stopping by!
Jolie says
This is great info Sarah! I never realized that C-sections could have an impact in this area.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on babies and household ‘germs’ too - for example, I have a friend who wouldn’t mind feeding her kids food if they dropped it on the floor! (Mind you, it wasn’t filthy or anything.) My initial reaction to this was being a little concerned, but I’ve come to realize that it probably does help build the immune system - what do you think?
You know, Jolie, if it hits the ground I don’t pick it right back up and put it in their mouth. If they see me doing that, they’re going to do it too. I encourage my boys to throw it away if that happens, of course. But if they’re crawling around and pop a cheerio in that’s been sitting there, only because they’re just so small they don’t realize what they’re doing, then I don’t freak out about it.
I’m all for building an immune system, but doing it best with being outdoors, encouraging them to play in the dirt, not jumping to antibiotics or medicine right away, stuff like that. But after having bad experiences with parasites and other infections in the past, I do stick to the basics like washing your produce, cooking your meats thoroughly, no raw eggs, etc. In fact, it’s even more important when you’re pregnant to avoid certain foods because of those increased risks with our suppressed immune systems. But I always have our entire family taking multi-vitamins and probiotics too to help.
Great question Jolie! Thanks for you comment and have a nice day.
Emanuel says
Finally I found a website with all the information that I was looking for.
You have some great information here! I am just learning about natural baby birth, so I learned a lot.
Thanks!
You saved my day.
Awesome! Feel free to subscribe or follow me on social media so you don’t miss anything useful. Feel free to ask any questions too. Thanks Emanuel.
Wayne Bamford says
Fantastic site Sarah,
A pleasure to read. The vibe it gives me is a positive one. Keep it up.. Onwards and upwards.
Your Friend from WA
Wayne
P.S I may have just what you need on my site if you care to take a look at the review?. A fantastic Stroller.
amazingly-new-hot-releases-from-amazon.siterubix.com
Thanks Wayne. It’s great to hear from fellow WAers. I would love to look at your review. I’ve been needing to look into getting a new stroller, especially now that I’l have three boys three and under pretty soon, could use the extra cargo space. Best!
Cathy Liew says
I gave birth to my son naturally and so he gets all the benefits. As for my girl I’m pretty sorry for her as has to go through cesarean delivery. Not by choice of course
This article is very informative and will a good read for all moms to be. Keep up the good work. Sarah.
Cathy
Thank you for sharing Cathy. I’m absolutely sure that you did all that was possible with both of your births. Things happen sometimes and it’s beyond our control. But I’m sure that you’re still grateful and blessed to have your daughter, no matter how she came. If you like, you can share your natural birthing story of your son on our stories page here. Best, Cathy!
Dom says
There are so many useful information here on microbiome. Never thought that microbiome is so important to babies. Now with the tips you have provided so comprehensively here, I know what to do and tell my wife about this. Thank you very much!
That would be wonderful to share with your wife, let her know that I can help if she has any questions too. You’re welcome and thanks for stopping by Dom. Have a nice day!
edy says
This is very informative Sarah!
I am glad to know the danger of microbiome.
Thank you for sharing it. Many parents will be more aware from now on.
I sure hope so Edy. But it’s up to us that know it’s importance to share with with loved ones as much as we can. Thanks for your comment.
Anele says
A must read for all mothers
Thanks Anele.
Sadie says
Wow this was a very interesting and informative article. I had a son about year ago and he was 5 weeks premature. I understood the importance of many of the things you mentioned because of the need to get him healthier and heavier at the time, but I never truly realized how far in the future these things can affect a child no matter when they are born. Really liked your site, it is very insightful!
It’s quite amazing how things affect each other from years and years of differences in time and places. It makes one think twice about their decisions. Thanks for sharing Sadie, feel free to visit often.
Sylvia says
Hi Sarah!
Very useful information!
I know nothing about this topic before reading your post.
My sister is giving birth soon and I think this will help her a lot.
Thanks for sharing!
That’s wonderful for your sister, Sylvia. Feel free to share with her and I would love to hear from her if she has any questions. Best!
Wow! nice article. I learned new info here. I know now why breastmilk is very important. 🙂
There’s SO much more to breastmilk than to what I shared here. But yes, you’re absolutely right, Keye. Feel free to share and encourage others so that we can help the future generations.
Jean says
I am so impressed with this article! I am so glad you are bringing this to light. It is very important to receive these microbs from the mother. C-section are at a disadvantage in many ways.
Glad that you liked it, Jean. I’m ever so thankful that the MicroBirth group created their documentary in the first place too. I always knew about these things in my own education, but when I found this video they shared, it spurred me onto to sharing with you and others because I realized just HOW important it was. It’s the main reason that I chose to give birth naturally in the first place! Help me share with others and feel free to visit anytime. Thanks Jean!
Wow! That is such a well-researched post. Congratulations on the detail, the links to research studies and the video link. I like the balance you have brought to the subject. My wife pumps me with probiotics to help with gut health, particularly since we live in an Asian country. She studied naturopathy before moving across to online counselling.
Your site will certainly be very instructive to many people. And this is from someone who never had children.
Regards,
Duncan
Good for your wife! 🙂 Hopefully you don’t give her too much flack about making you take the probiotics.
Thanks for visiting Duncan, and feel free to share.