Vaginal seeding or microbirthing — the practice of swabbing babies born via cesarean section with their mother's vaginal fluid to introduce the bacterial strains that help establish their lifelong microbiomes — is becoming increasingly popular. However, a British Medical Journal editorial suggests the jury's still out on whether the practice is safe or beneficial.
More than 25 percent of babies are born via cesarean section in many countries, and such births are associated with an increased risk of obesity, autoimmune diseases or asthma. However, the scientific foundation for making the leap to microbirthing as a protective measure against that risk is shaky, according to the editorial's authors.
"We lack that certainty at present," they wrote. "Newborns may develop severe infections from exposure to vaginal commensals and pathogens, which the mother may carry asymptomatically … We are aware of only one current clinical trial investigating vaginal seeding, but the primary outcome is alteration of the neonatal microbiota rather than a clinical outcome, and it excludes women with vaginal carriage of potential pathogens."
Beyond fostering an increased awareness of the risks that come along with vaginal seeding, the authors suggest that other influential factors on infants' bacterial populations, such as encouraging breast feeding and avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use, could have greater impact on health outcomes later in life.