While the mother’s vagina contains a lot of bacteria that are good for a baby, it might also have some dangerous pathogens that the mother never even knew she had. The researchers mentioned B streptococcus, which is found in up to 30 percent of women and can cause an infection in the baby’s blood; as well as herpes virus and the bacteria that cause chlamydia and gonorrhea in adults and can bring on a nasty eye infection in newborns. Helping babies avoid those potential pathogens, which they’re exposed to during vaginal birth, is one of the advantages of a C-section. In the swabbing experiment published earlier this month, the mothers were screened for just these sorts of microorganisms in order to be eligible for the experiment, which is not common practice for most pregnant women. Passing on the mother’s microbiome without that sort of test would put babies at risk of developing those sorts of infections, the study authors write. The scientists behind the swabbing experiment admit that it will take years or decades until they know if vaginal seeding benefits babies in the long term. Until then, the researchers recommend that new moms don’t request the procedure at the hospital or do it themselves. And while the study authors write that doctors should respect the autonomy of mothers who do decide to do vaginal seeding, they also suggest that other practices, such as breastfeeding and limiting the use of antibiotics could have a much bigger effect on a baby’s microbiome without any of the additional risks.
