Health Notebook: Good for the gut
Your baby’s digestive tract has a lot of developing to do in the early days, months and years. Learn how you can support the process
A HEALTHY HUMAN has several hundred beneficial bacterial species living in the digestive tract. This is referred to as the gut microbiome. It works hard to maintain the lining of the gut, to digest food, to get rid of toxins, to act as a barrier against bad bacteria and to support the nervous and immune systems. Complete colonisation of the gut with adult bacteria only occurs at about three years of age.
When a baby is born, the microbiome isn’t automatically up and running. It takes time to develop and establish itself, and there are a number of factors that influence the process, both positively and negatively. Here’s a look at some of them:
VAGINAL DELIVERY +
Babies born vaginally have an advantage when it comes to the gut microbiome. During the delivery, they are exposed to the good bacteria in your vaginal and faecal flora, such as lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.
C-SECTION DELIVERY –
Babies born this way have bacteria transferred from your skin, which is less protective than the bacteria transferred during a natural delivery. This could explain the higher risk of allergies, immune disorder, inflammatory bowel disease and obesity in children born via c-section.
PREMATURE BIRTH –
Prem babies are more likely to be exposed to antibiotics, invasive procedures, the ICU environment and medicines, which can all have a negative impact on the gut microbiome. Premmies are also more likely to be on formula, which alters the gut microbiome.
BREASTFEEDING +
In breastfed babies, the dominant gut bacteria is Bifidobacterium, which has many advantages.
FORMULA FEEDING –
While formula-fed babies are also colonised by the beneficial Bifidobacterium, they tend to have a greater abundance of Clostridium bacteria, which have been associated with a higher risk of allergies such as eczema and recurrent wheezing.
ANTIBIOTIC USE –
In babies, antibiotic use has a profound effect on the development of the gut microbiome. This can cause major disruption and an increased risk of eczema, asthma and type 1 diabetes.
But all is not lost if you didn’t deliver naturally or aren’t breastfeeding exclusively. More and more research and evidence show that probiotics can help rebalance your baby’s gut microbiome.
In preterm infants, administering probiotics even reduces the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis. Probiotics in general lower the risk of allergies, obesity, gastrointestinal infections, colic and diarrhoea.
When it comes to colic, a number of studies have shown that probiotics could reduce the incidence of colic by 50 percent!
Also, after a bout of diarrhoea (especially when it is caused by the rotavirus), probiotics can help get the microbiome back on track.